Citizen Soldiers
by Minga
Summary: Revised: Eventually we did find the AllSpark, but it was too late; Prowl was gone, and Narzenim soon after. I was the last Cybertronian on the planet and upon seeing the cube, I implored it and primus to help-to do something. and then... I died.
1. Prologue

**Minga****Written ****(and then rewritten) ****mostly by Ina who has a freakishly good memory. ****O.o**

**Ina: (makes a face) I do not. I can't even remember what we had for lunch yesterday. ((****grumble))**

**Minga****: (rolls eyes) whatever. ****Ina (known here as Draconic Caduceus) is a co-author of this story. She writes a lot and there seems to be no limits to her imagination. ****Anything else you want to say****, Ina**

**Ina: Well, this story will be AU, based off some of the movie and old G1 series. :) ****Minga**** and I also don't own the Transformers used in this story, save for Slash, Streak, Whin, Narzenim, Firebird, and Jumper; they belong to me. :)**

**Minga****: I own…the idea? Well, some of it, anyway.**

**Ina: ((grumble))**

**Minga****: Don't mind her; she's just grumpy right now. ((****whispers****)) She doesn't like the cold too much.**

**Ina: (glares at ****Minga)**

**--**

_Windtreader's Log:_

How long have we been traveling as such? Even I, the sort-of historian of all of us, am not fully sure how long this war has been going on. It is a brutal war that has left us with many casualties. We are all Cybertronians – children of Primus, the giver of life to our race. And yet it doesn't matter anymore; brother kills brother, mother kills child, and sister is pitted against sister and all her family.

I am torn. My twin, my beloved Windstreaker is on one side, and my brother, dear Optimus, is on the other. Who am I to choose between them? They are my siblings and regardless of what they do to me or to each other, I love them both equally.

All I know is the war, despite being sparked in the Golden Age of Cybertron – the brief, fleeting but wonderful years before the war. The Great War that destroyed Cybertron – our once-beautiful home – and sent our fighting to the far ends of the galaxy, involving worlds who had no business being caught between us. I knew that my dear brother, leader of the Autobots aches that it happens this way; his spark is weary of the constant war and battling, and I don't need to be a medic to see that the immense responsibility on his shoulders is slowly crushing him.

What crushes me is the fact that he hates me; he hates me with such a passion that at first he didn't want to charter my services, despite the fact that I was a supporter of the Autobot cause though not quite under his command. I am a captain, by the way. If anything, that in itself is enough to get me into a high-ranking position in the Autobot ranks should I have decided to join at any moment; many ships have gone along with their captains. Even more were killed in battle, in cold blood, or forced to join the Decepticons – enemy of the Autobots.

I am one of the few Neutrals that are still alive; I and my crew, really, are most of the known Neutrals on the planet. The rest were killed or enslaved and tortured by Megatron, cruel leader of the Decepticons , for his amusement.

As it is, no one dares to attempt to harm me or my crew; I am too valuable an asset to any side. Not only am I captain of a ship, I am a formidable warrior, medic, spy, tracker, and historian. I possess great strength (I don't mean to brag about this, really), and feline-like grace and agility. Above all, I am a femme and stronger in many ways than the average mech.

These are not traits that I am proud of; I'd rather be known as an artist, historian, good captain, good sister, good friend, and good mother. Alas I am not.

That is how I found myself in this rather interesting predicament. Optimus, at the prompting of his second and third in command, not to mention CMO and weapons specialist who knew me, acquired me as a captain to fly his ship, the _Protector_ to Tyger Pax. We were on a special mission, as I understood, to hide a very powerful artifact from the Decepticons, in hopes of waiting out the war. I and my crew was not told what it was.

We were carrying a large…bit of cargo that resembled a rather large cube. It came up to my waist and after a loud shouting match (which Optimus contributed the most to) I left it alone. We bore a young spy by the name of Bumblebee, a sweet young mech that thankfully wasn't much tainted by the war. In addition to Bumblebee was a large chunk of the higher-ups and top-line warriors in the Autobot Army. I knew some of them; Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, another set of twins that were legendary as melee fighters, Prowl, Autobot tactician and young 'bot that I myself had raised, Jazz, Autobot Saboteur and very good friend of Prowl's; Ironhide, weapon's specialist and old friend; Ratchet, Chief Medical Officer and old friend. And of course there was Optimus Prime, my beloved brother.

Jumper was my first mate, and was often picked on by some of the rowdier of the bunch, as he was a cyber-wolf – a talking, _feeing_ cyber-wolf. Firebird is also picked on, though he usually stays near me or Narzenim, my adopted daughter. It was a common sight to see me around the ship with Firebird the turbo-hawk perched regally on my shoulder.

Tyger-Pax was a ruin when we reached the colonized asteroid; I felt bad that I couldn't make much of a difference to them, and offered more than one prayer to Primus for them. For the most part I ignored the Autobots, instead checking the massive ship for cracks in the hull that could affect its flight. The only time I joined then was when they asked for my help carrying their cube of a cargo out.

This disturbed Narzenim for some reason, and when I tried to figure out why, she wouldn't tell me more than that it was very dangerous. I trusted my daughter enough to bring the matter up with Optimus who yelled so fiercely at Narzenim for snooping around the cargo hold that the rather tough little youngling cried like a sparkling. This prompted an argument that had Jumper hiding in their bunk with his tails between his legs and even Jazz and Prowl hiding somewhere.

No more than a week later, the Decepticons attacked and made off with young little Bumblebee and the cube which Narzenim told me was actually the AllSpark. Which was why I joined the force that attacked the Decepticon base where it was stored. Not only to keep the artifact out of the wrong hands, but to ensure that no one was attacked by my sister.

I was the one that bore back the stasis-locked body of Bumblebee who I already considered as a sort-of son-slash-younger brother, and I stayed with Ratchet and helped to fix the youngling who was both older and younger than Narzenim. Despite our best efforts, the youngling's vocal cords were irreparable at the moment; he would likely live a good chunk of his life playing back sound files to 'talk'.

The thing that really killed me about it was that he so reminded me of Prowl when the tactician was younger.

And so, that is why we hurtled through space with the Decepticons close on our tails (so to speak) to chase down the ancient artifact. It was agony to watch sweet little Bee mimic voices to say something as simple as 'hello' and that was the entire reason I pushed the _Protector_ to its limits to get the cube before the Decepticons.

Unfortunately they had a cruiser of better condition and better speed than the _Protector_, and we were rammed hard from behind as we approached the planet where the AllSpark had landed, causing us all – Autobot and Decepticon alike – to crash land on the planet.

The planet was young, just forming – a dominant species wasn't quite there yet, and great beasts that rivaled me in size but not strength walked the earth. Unlike ours it was an organic planet, full of natural resources. The Cube was nowhere to be found and we resumed our battle on the dusty ground the planet.

That was when trouble started.

It started with the Decepticons, and Windstreaker was the first to fall ill; it was a strange virus that swept like wildfire along the Decepticon ranks before being spread to the Autobots. One by one people died; Windstreaker was the first to fall and it hurt me more than any physical wound could, to feel the sudden extinguishing of her spark.

There was no cure, no way to find it; Ratchet was one of the first to die, and I was too sick to do much. Jazz and Prowl fell ill just after Ratchet passed, and the twins were failing quickly. Ironhide, Bee, and Optimus were the last to get ill, and of the three Ironhide was the first to go. Jumper, Firebird, and Narzenim were fine though battling with the sickness themselves; when Bee and Jazz were gone, Optimus was about to join the Matrix himself. Prowl, Jumper, Firebird, Narzenim, and I were the last ones left, and we all knew that the only way to bring everyone back was to find the AllSpark.

So carrying them on my back, we searched for the powerful artifact. Firebird was the first of us to go and we placed him in a tall pine tree, a perch he would have loved. We continued on.

Jumper was next. We put him beside a river, as he loved water. And then it was as if something was calling to my spark and unconsciously I knew that it was the AllSpark.

Strangely enough, we traveled slower despite having two less to care for; the remaining two on my back were on the brink of death. That made me push myself even harder to reach the AllSpark.

Eventually we did find it, but it was too late; Prowl was gone, and Narzenim soon after. I was the last Cybertronian on the planet and upon seeing the gray cube, I implored it –and Primus – to help – to do something. And then…

I died.


	2. Chapter 1

**Minga: The rating will inevitably go up before we reach the ending; Ina was saying that she had a few very good visions of action scenes, and of course with her, 'very good visions of action scenes' means 'lots of blood and gore'. I'll put up warnings when it comes to that. Personally, I can't wait to see how much gore she actually puts in.**

**Ina: (grins)**

**Minga: Okay, that's creepy. Just a tad, ya know? And we're not sure yet, but there may be some slash in here.**

**Ina: (slaps hand over Minga's mouth) Shaddup and let them read the story and not your monologues.**

* * *

"Whinny?" The elder woman looked up from her painting and smiled kindly at them. 

"Do you two need something?" she asked, standing. At three inches taller than six feet, she was a rather large woman, with a strong athletic build. Her sepia-toned skin had a slight hint of gold, and her long brownish-black hair was braided nearly behind her, falling to her waist. Her dark red bangs and the silver-gray hair that framed her face hung loose, flapping in front of her face, hiding partially her strange golden eyes. Whinny picked up her special pair of glasses and slipped them on over her light-sensitive slit-pupil eyes which Prowl could never tell was real or not. Glasses firmly on, she flicked the light on so they could see.

"We need help, actually," Jazz told her. In looks alone, he could be her only blood-child, something that deep in his heart Prowl envied. He had similar-colored skin as her, sans the golden tinge, with bright gold eyes and round pupils, unlike Whinny. He stood three inches shorter than her, but height had never really mattered when it came to Whinny. His hair was dark, nearly black, and kept in neat, tiny braids with black, white, and frosty blue beads braided into them – a style which Whinny helped Jazz to keep, seeing as he liked it.

A dark brow lifted but Whinny smiled in amusement. "Don't tell me you've gotten Jazz pregnant, Prowl." She teased, winking at Jazz who grinned back. "Or maybe it's the other way around?"

Prowl was used to such gentle jibes from his adopted mother, but nonetheless he flushed in embarrassment. "Nothing of the sort," he promised her so solemnly that she laughed. "It's about one of our cases." He looked nothing like Whinny, having pale skin and frosty blue eyes. His hair was a vibrant red, though he topped Jazz by two inches.

The dark brows lifted further as Whinny cleaned up the table and fetched them something to drink. "You need my help?"

"We have questions about mothering," Jazz explained. "We just had a woman attack a group of officers who was taking her child away."

Gold cat-like eyes went flat behind the odd blue lenses as Whinny sipped her tea. Both men were nervous; this was a taboo conversation they were having with her, and judging by the look she was giving them, she was disinclined to answer at all. At last, she sighed and closed her amazing eyes. "You are both men, young ones at that. I don't necessarily expect you to comprehend. A mother…" she hesitated, eyes seeing a past pain that only she could see at the present moment. "A mother, especially a young one, feels particularly attached to their child. Even mothers who have lost their children in some way are particularly sensitive to other children, and are usually very willing to do anything for a child they're fond of if they knew the child was in trouble."

Prowl and Jazz glanced at each other then around Whinny's studio, looking for something to talk about that was less painful. Whinny's current painting caught Prowl's eye, and curious, he peered closer at it. It looked like an enormous wedding picture. It seemed hazy, as if the camera was out of focused with the bride in the foreground, walking out of the chapel, veil fluttering. Golden slit-pupil eyes stared ahead, hard like bits of amber, over-bright with unshed tears. The altar behind her was empty – no bride and groom about to be married; the pastor and others were there, save for the bride and the groom who was nowhere to be seen. In the bride's arms was a little boy no older than three and no younger than two years, dressed smartly in a tuxedo and holding a stuffed dinosaur in his chubby hands.

"It's hard to think of sometimes." Prowl winced at the mild tone that Whinny had adopted as she was apt to do when she spoke of something uncomfortable.

"Is Narzenim home yet?" Jazz asked, trying to rescue Whinny's plummeting mood.

The woman blinked. "She's at soccer practice." She said. Standing, she collected herself. "I'll make you guys some lunch."

-

"So how old are you anyway?" Jazz asked Whinny who shrugged.

"Old," when both men rolled their eyes, she smiled slightly. "I stopped counting after thirty, but if my math is right, I'm somewhere in my fifties."

Both nearly choked on their food. "You're kidding."

Whinny smiled. "I told you I'm old."

"Well, you certainly don't look a day older than twenty, much less fifty." Jazz told her around a mouthful of his favorite triple-layer grilled cheese sandwich. "And you make wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches. Better than my mother used to make."

Golden eyes seemed to smile knowingly. "Thank you, Jazz."

"Whinny, do you think you can come with us and help with that woman?" Prowl asked shyly. After sixteen years of living with her, he still wasn't used to asking for favors from the woman.

Whinny looked thoughtfully at him. "If you want me to," she said at last. "Though I don't think I'll be much help; likely make everything worse." She didn't mention that she doubted the other officers would allow her to see the woman, much less speak with her, but oh well.

"It would be nice," Jazz said, casting a look at the older woman. She sighed, putting away the dishes. "When do we leave?"

-

"Why are we _here_?" was the first thing out of Whinny's mouth as they stepped out of the squad car. She had ridden her motorcycle close behind them, and had parked nearby.

Prowl was surprised not only by the odd tone in her voice, but also that she had known about where she was. She remained in her biking gear and carried her helmet under her arm while she adjusted her special blue shades with her other hand. _If anything, she seemed apprehensive_, Prowl reflected.

"I need to talk to a few friends." Jazz said, also noticing Whinny's abrupt attitude change.

Whinny said nothing more, her face a hard mask. She followed them up despite whatever she felt, and sat with Prowl in the waiting room. After a few moments of awkward silence, the door opened and Jazz walked out, followed by three others.

Prowl stood and shook hands while Whinny stood on the side. Jazz noticed her and moved to introduce her when two of the other three caught sight of her.

"Whin?" the shorter of the two asked, bright green eyes widening. "Is that you?"

Whin gave a small smile. "The one and only." She moved and embraced him. "It's nice to see a friendly face here. It's nice to see you again, Ratchet. You too, Ironhide." She added, nodding to the large man who chuckled and hugged her as well.

The man she identified as Ratchet stood only as tall as her mouth with a slim but athletic build similar to Whinny's though he didn't seem to emanate that peculiar sort of grace that the older woman did. He had short gray-silver hair with streaks of scarlet, most of which framed his pale face.

Ironhide was slightly taller than her and also like Whinny, he had a sort of feeling of strength that oozed off of him but unlike Whinny, he actually _looked_ like he could take on an angry grizzly and win. Whin emanated a sense that she could take on things tougher and meaner than angry grizzlies and still win.

"Whin, this is Bumblebee. 'Bee, this is Whinny." Jazz said, wrapping a familiar arm around the third person, a boy no older than seventeen. He had blond-golden hair and sparkling sapphire eyes that glittered like jewels in his pale face.

"Nice to meet you, Bumblebee." Orange eyes danced merrily over the odd blue glasses. Prowl blinked and stared at Whinny for a while before looking away with a slight shrug. Must've been his imagination.

A fourth person appeared in the doorway and Jazz and Prowl noticed that Whinny went stiff. He matched the woman in height and Ironhide in stature. His eyes were frosty blue with darker tones near his pupil.

"Bee, don't forget you have practice soon." He said in a fatherly tone. Catching sight of Whinny, he froze, merry face disappearing. "_You_."

Whin's smile had fallen the moment he walked in, and now her face was a mask of internal pain at the vehemence in his voice. "Yes, me."

"What are you doing here?"'

"Could I not visit my brother?" Whin asked rather faintly, and the man ground his teeth. "Come now, Orion. I haven't seen him in twenty-five years."

"Perhaps he was avoiding you. After all, you weren't the best sister to him."

Golden eyes closed at the lash of the words and Whinny sighed. "My debts have been paid to them. Only you remain."

"And he will hold you to your debt."

"Twisting the knife you stabbed into my heart?" Whin asked dejectedly. "Or are you trying to hurt me again?"

"It is what you deserve." Orion snapped back. "You stopped being my sister twenty-five years ago. Now you're only a _nightmare_ to me."

"And would you give such a warm welcome to Streak? After all, she's the one that left us." Her voice was injured and tinged with rancor. Throughout the exchange, Orion had moved closer and closer until they were face-to-face.

Without warning, Orion threw a punch at her chest. Whinny didn't so much as rock back on her heels and pushed him easily backwards. Whinny only twitched when he threw a punch at her shoulder, and ducked when he threw a punch at her face. After that, she didn't move for Ratchet had placed a hand on her shoulder, and Ironhide and Bumblebee had moved to restrain Orion. Prowl and Jazz moved to help Ironhide and Bumblebee, but the older man waved them off and they turned to watch Ratchet talk with Whin.

"Are you injured, Whin?" Ratchet asked, pressing gently on her stomach where the first blow had landed. He probed the patch of coloring skin on her shoulder. "Whin?" he looked up to find that her glasses had been knocked off, revealing her odd red-orange slit-pupil eyes which were half-closed against the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights.

"Only in my heart," Whinny told him wearily.

"What heart?" her brother snapped from across the room.

"Are you sure?" Ratchet asked, ignoring Orion's pessimism. Whin nodded meekly. "I've never seem him like this. I'm sorry, Whin."

"It's all right," she said wearily. "He just doesn't seem to like me very much. We've had arguments before. Where are my glasses, Ratchet?"

The medic frowned. "Can you not see?"

"The lights hurt my eyes." Whin explained. "They're too bright, and I use these glasses during the day or whenever I'm in a brightly-lit room. Optimus must've knocked it off."

Prowl picked it up and walked over with it. Hearing him, Whinny turned to look at him. Gently, he pressed the special lenses into her hands while staring into her half-lidded eyes. "Thank you, Prowl." She said softly, putting the glasses on. Over the top of the glasses, Prowl caught a glimpse of blood-red swirling into gold and a hair-fine slit-pupil. "I'm sorry, guys," she said as Ratchet moved to talk to Orion whose eyes were flashing in anger and Jazz came over to his two friends. "I better go home."

"Is it because of Orion?" Jazz asked, and Whin sighed.

"Partially, yes. I could work with him, but he cannot work with me. Too bad blood in our pasts, I suppose you could say." Whinny said at last. "I'd rather not be punched again, or even cause tension in the group. Besides, I work better alone."

"Okay," Jazz said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We understand."

"Thank you," picking up her fallen helmet, she left.

"I've never seen them argue like that." Ironhide murmured. "But then again, I've never seen them together. I guess they haven't seen each other in a while."

"No duh," Ratchet snapped from where he was probing Orion's chest gently to find any injuries. "I don't think anything's wrong besides some slight bruises. You're lucky, you know. I've seen Whin shatter a man's ribs with a single punch."

"I saw the same thing. No exaggeration." Ironhide rumbled with a nod. "She wasn't even trying."

"Just surprised. The guy jumped out of nowhere at her and she just turned and whacked him." Ratchet added, finishing his examination of Optimus who grumbled and pulled on his shirt.

"How do you know her?" Prowl asked, curious.

Ratchet and Ironhide looked at each other for a moment then back at Prowl. "We served with her in battle." Ratchet said at last. "I was the field medic in Ironhide and Whin's group. We first met – really met – when Whin brought Ironhide to me during a skirmish. Carried him over her shoulder, really, and stayed to keep an eye on us."

"You seem to know her very well," Prowl observed.

"So do you," Ironhide answered, looking at him thoughtfully. "Are you her son?"

For a second, his chest went tight with hope – his wish and the very thought – of being her son. But no, he wasn't her son, and he could breathe normally. "No. She adopted me a long time ago."

Ratchet and Ironhide exchanged another glance. "She told us once that she had a son. Her fiancée left her at the altar because he didn't want a child, but that's all she told us. No elaborations."

"That's more than she told me," Prowl told them with a tinge of jealousy.

Ratchet snorted. "She was _very_ drunk."

* * *

**Ina's Monologue:**

**Whee! I get a monologue session. XD Ina's Monologue will explain certain things not mentioned (or not explained well) in the story. Today we'll be discussing...uh... brief concepts, I guess. Some of these are obvious, but it doesn't hurt to go over them. They should be rather brief, as they'll be talked about a lot or later in the story.**

**Whin: Pretty damn old, pretty damn tall, pretty damn strong, pretty damn amused. Her eyes actually have slit pupils, and they do change colours; red when she's angry, gold when she's not, and orange in between. Unfortunately they're very sensitive to light so if she's in an area with bright light, she needs to wear special glasses that help to filter out the bright light and allow her eyes to function normally. She used to be in the military and served with Ratchet and Ironhide, which is how she knows them.**

**Prowl: Whin's adopted son, police officer. Good friend of Jazz's with icy blue eyes and shockingly bright red hair.**

**Jazz: Accented, tan-skinned friend of Prowl and Whin's. He boards with his Prowl, his partner, at Whin's large house. Likes grilled cheese sandwiches and the little braids Whin puts his hair in.**

**Narzenim: Whin's adopted daughter.**

**Orion: Whin's younger brother who apparently hates her.**

**Bumblebee: Friend of Jazz, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Orion.**

**Ironhide: Trigger-happy friend of Whin who she met on a tour of duty.**

**Ratchet: Grumpy medic friend of Whin and Ironhide, meeting also during a tour of duty. He and Ironhide are the few people who have seen her drunk**


	3. Chapter 2

**Minga: (dances) Another chapter.**

**Ina: (yawns and grumbles)**

**Minga: Awww, someone's tired.**

**Ina: (grumbles) bite me.**

* * *

I do not understand why you cry.

-**Shut up, Syrioss.-**

Whin pulled on her helmet and mounted her bike. **–It wasn't your fault, you know. We've established the fact that it was **_**our**_** fault, really.-** Whin cracked a tiny smile at the endearing tone in his deep voice.

_'I know, Ran. Thanks.'_

You are in no condition to drive.

**-**_**Shut up**_**, Syrioss. I'll dr****i****ve, Whin.-**

Whin sniffed. _'Thanks. As for whose fault it is, I doubt Optimus would agree.'_

**-He doesn't understand,-** Ran explained patiently, starting the bike.

Whin sighed though it sounded more like a hiccup. _'I know. I wish I could explain it to him.'_

You can, but you just don't want to.

**-Syrioss!-** the other fell silent. **–Primus, he's an idiot.-**

I am not. Syrioss huffed, but fell silent once more when Ran growled at him.

_'I do want to tell him, but I know he won't listen long enough. Likely throw a punch or five by the time I get around to saying "Hi, bro."'_ she said bitterly.

**-One day, Whin. He'll listen one day.-** Ran told her trying to lift her plummeting spirits.

_'I'm starting to lose hope, Ran. Twenty-five years is apparently not long enough to put our differences and pasts behind us.'_

Ran was silent for a while as he pulled into the driveway. **–Have faith, Whin. I hate seeing you like this, and you know it. Think of Narz and Prowl and Jazz. You need to be strong for them, and you must have faith. We're always here for you; you know that. Even that other idiot.-**

Syrioss made a sound of agreement, but not at the insult. Really, Whin. We'll always be here for you when the world walks out on ya.

Whine gave one last sniff and got off the bike. _'Thanks.'_ Getting out the key, she unlocked the door and walked inside. _'What do you recommend for dinner?'_

You have steak in the freezer from last week. Syrioss told her immediately.

**-You also have shrimp from before that.-** Ran pointed out. **–And chicken breast too. Why don't you make pasta? That way you could use all of them.-**

_'And the argument?'_

Syrioss paused, thinking. Pasta sounds good.

Whin cracked a smile. _'Pasta it is.'_

-

With a soft hiss, the stone moved along the length of the amazing golden blade, making the metal-like weapon sing as it slid off its razor-sharp tip. There were two blades on each arm, lines up with each other and positioned on the outside of her arms, in line with her pinkies.

Whirling, she slashed out at the lamp with her left hand. With a hiss and a clatter, the top of the lamp slid off and fell to the floor, sheared neatly off by the golden blades. The blades flared as their bearer was surprised by a knock on the door. With a flick of her wrists, she ordered the blades back in their place. Obediently the golden blades sunk downwards and disappeared into her arm as the door opened.

"Jazz and Prowl are home," Narzenim told her adopted mother quietly, eyeing the remains of the lamp.

Whin smiled up at her daughter. "Okay. I'll be right down." With a nod the teen closed the door. When the door had shut, she turned to look at the lamp. Flapping a hand at it, she left as well. The broken lamp twitched then moved together and becoming one once more, flew up to rest in its previous position on the table.

-

"Sorry about earlier today, Whin," Jazz said and surprised, the woman looked up from the prodding of her pasta.

She gave a shaky smile and shook her head. "Nah, it's okay, Jazz. Orion and I just haven't gotten along for nearly thirty years."

"What happened that made him hate you?" Prowl asked and Whin frowned slightly as if contemplating whether or not to tell him.

"I'm older than him by thirteen years, and our mother had to work, so she'd leave him home with me and 'Streak – that's my twin sister. Streak got jealous because Orion and I were practically joined at the hip – a position she used to have with me." Whin sighed. "Streak hated Orion at first – the 'lil' pipsqueak' needed to be fed, burped, changed, played with, kept from harm, and worst of all to her was that he'd _scream_. It certainly didn't help that Mother kept his crib in our room so I could take care of him." She sighed again, prodding her uneaten pasta with her fork. "Streak hated Orion with a passion and when we turned twenty, she left us. Orion, however, loved her as much as he loved me and was just as heartbroken as I was that she left. He was ten and couldn't understand why Streak would just up and leave like that. He began distancing himself from me – he didn't want his heart to be broken if I decided to leave.

"One day while he was at school I had come home to visit him – it was attending college at the time – to find our Mother bleeding. I called the police of course and tried to bring her back. 'Course, that did nothing but get me all bloody, and when Orion came home, he flipped and thought I killed her." Whin grimaced at that and shuddered. "A month later, they established the fact that I was not her killer – her real killer is still on the loose." There was something strange in the way she said that, but Jazz and Prowl dared not interrupt. "Orion's father and I got into an argument. About what, I don't really remember, but he tried to punch me – attack me with a kitchen knife, really – and I fought back only in defense. My nerves were frayed horribly and I didn't want anything bad to happen to Orion's sole surviving parent. Orion walked in on us and once more, flipped." She sighed. "He's hated me ever since and he's still convinced that I killed Mother."

"So what projects are you working on now?" Jazz asked, always eager to know what sort of artwork Whin worked on.

The woman blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in topics. "Nothing, really. I don't have any commissions so I'm working on projects I've been wanting to work on during my free time."

"Are we going camping again soon?" Narzenim piped up from across the table where she was helping herself to her third serving of pasta.

Whinny smiled. "Yes, pretty soon." She cast a golden eye at Jazz and Prowl almost thoughtfully before returning to her meal. Camping was a tradition with them – they went into the wilderness every few months for about a week, letting Jazz and Prowl have the house all to themselves.

Narzenim looked up and glanced at Jazz and Prowl, gaze lingering unlike her mother's. Narzenim, like Prowl, was adopted by Whin at a young age and raised by the older woman. Her eyes were a vibrant emerald, bright against her light skin. Like Prowl, she had bright red hair which she usually wore in a long braid. Her eyes always seemed to convey stillness and calm while letting you know that despite how invisible you felt, she always saw you; you could never hide from her emerald eyes.

At last the hard gaze subsided and she offered them an apologetic smile before eating her dinner once more. Whinny looked over at her and Prowl and Jazz felt as if they were missing something – a conversation between mother and daughter that lasted only a scant few seconds. Their gazes were locked and abruptly split, going back to what they were doing before.

Jazz and Prowl exchanged a glance then resumed eating.

-

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Do you doubt me?"

"No, no. I never doubt you, love. It's just…"

"I know. The Dragon symbol is not the best one to have."

"He will be cursed for the rest of his life. Sometimes I wish I had never damned him – that I wasn't his mother…"

"You did what you had to do. When the time is right, he will know and he will understand. He must learn, however, to turn his curse into a blessing for himself. As for being his mother, I believe that you may have made a mistake then, but with him existing, I think that there are a great many things that can and will be accomplished. I ain't sayin' he's the damned Messiah, but I would rather live in a world with him than without."

There was a chuckle. "You are wise beyond your years, Little One."

"I know."

"Wise ass."

"But you love me anyway."

-

Blearily, Jazz blinked as his comm. unit chirped irritatingly at him. Grunting, he heaved his tired body off the bed and grabbed it before it could wake anyone else. "Jazz here."

_"Jazz, it's Optimus."_

Jazz blinked in surprise. "Optimus? To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"_There's nothing good about it, Jazz."_ Something in his leader's voice wiped the smile off the man's face. _"You know Whin? Before today, I mean."_

Jazz frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah. I live with her." There was a sharp intake of breath on the other line. "Why? Is something wrong?"

Optimus sighed. _"She's Marked."_

Immediately Jazz was wide awake. "Who's she bound to?"

Though he couldn't see him, Jazz could tell that Optimus shook his head. _"I don't know; I haven't seen her in nearly thirty years."_ The older man reminded the younger bitterly. _"I just called to tell you to be very, very careful because Whin's dangerous."_

"Do you know her Markings?" Jazz asked quietly.

_"Dragon and Torch, though their meanings for her, I do not know. I just know that she has incredible power that we do not possess; we'd need the Seer for that."_

"And we don't know where he is." Jazz finished almost bitterly.

_"Precisely. So be on your guard around Whin, okay? I don't want to lose someone else to her."_

"Acknowledged. Out." The comm. unit went dead and Jazz sighed. Rubbing his eyes, he looked up –

To find Whin standing in the doorway, cup of tea in her graceful hand. Her strange golden eyes fairly glowed in the dim light and Jazz wondered how long she'd been there and how much she had heard of the conversation with her brother.

"Megatron does not have the Seer, so you needn't worry." She said at last, eyes hard. Unconsciously one hand rose to rub her chest just below her collarbones. "Orion doesn't have her either and I do not plan on giving her to him unless it is what she wishes. You may tell him I said that if you wish." On silent feet she walked out and down the hall, disappearing quickly.

* * *

**Ina's Monologue:**

**Today's topic: **

**Marks: In this story, a Mark is a tattoo-like mark on the skin that appears first on the day the subject was born, then disappears the nBouext day. The Mark appears a while later when the subject is older and the Mark Activates. The Activation of a Mark will be discussed in a different Monologue, perhaps next chapter. There are thirteen Marks: Angel, Ant, Bear, Caduceus, Cat, Dragon, Hawk, Lion, Shield, Spyglass, Sword, Torch, and Wolf, and each have their own meanings. The meanings of the Marks will also be discussed later.**

**Bound: In the conversation between Jazz and Optimus, they discussed Whin and her Marks, as well as who speculating if she is bound to anyone. In this context, they are referring to the act of choosing a side.**

**Seer: Will be explained later in greater detail, but in essence the Seer is a child who sees (duh) things that not many people can. This child can usually tell who is Marked and who is not, and sometimes even see the future. The Seer also has the ability to know whose side someone is on, what their Marks are, and if aforementioned Marks are Active.**

**Whin, Ran, and Syrioss: ****Whin has issues, but schizophrenia is not one of them. Her only injury is a broken heart and such conversations with Ranthanoss and Syrioss are normal. As one with a Dragon Mark, she has split personalities: human and dragon. Ranthanoss is her Dragon-side, but Syrioss is there because of her Torch symbol, thus a three-way split with poor Whin.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Minga: (drools over Jumper)**

**Ina: (rolls eyes)**

**Minga: What?**

**Ina: (rolls eyes again and goes back to drawing)**

**Minga: Speaking of which, 1) the gory violence will be coming next chapter, and 2) Ina drew Barricade, Bonecrusher, and Whin in their dragon forms. She's been procrastinating, however, so she hasn't posted them on her deviantArt page. When she has, I'll let y'all know.**

**Ina: My favorite's Barricade. :3**

* * *

"You look lonely." Narzenim's head jerked up in surprise and gave a shy smile to the boy who sat in front of her. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked belatedly and still surprised, Narzenim shook her head dumbly. "My name's Sam – short for Samuel – but my friends call me Bee."

Narzenim ducked her head and grinned. "My name is Sara but my friends call me Narzenim or Narz."

"Well, Narz, it's nice to meet you. I think I've seen you around before."

Narzenim smiled. She liked this boy; he was nice and seemed to emanate a grace that belied his scrawny form. "We have four classes together." She replied. "Math, history, science, and mechanics."

Bee stared. "You're taking mechanics?"

Narzenim looked down. "Yea. My mom likes to tinker with things and she always used to take me into her workshop, you know? So I've grown up around tools and I like to be useful too."

"Ever heard of the Autobots?" a strange look passed across the pretty but alien face that disappeared almost as fast as it had appeared. "They're mechanics and work at Autobots down the street from the school. I work there part-time as a sort of secretary, but sometimes I need help. Do you want to come by and get a form?"

Narzenim brightened at that, then wilted slightly. "I have soccer practice after school." She said apologetically. "Varsity."

Bee gawped but recovered quickly. "Boys varsity practices and finishes at the same time as the girls – we can go to Autobots together."

Narzenim gave him a shy smile, eyes practically glowing. "Thanks, Bee."

The boy returned the shy smile. "You're welcome, Narz."

-

"Ironhide said he'd teach me some mechanics…and they have a lift!"

"I would expect so," Whin told her daughter with unconcealed amusement. "I'm glad you're having fun."

"What's interesting is that they're all Marked," Narzenim babbled on, helping her mother clean up after dinner. "I could see them all."

"Are their Marks active?" Whin asked distractedly, scrubbing at the frying pan.

Narzenim nodded happily, drying a dish. "All of them."

"Have you recorded them yet?"

Narzenim winced and shook her head. "I didn't get a chance to today. Sorry."

Whin looked up and sighed, hugging her adopted daughter. "It's all right so long as you do it eventually; I don't want to be surprised if I have to deal with anybody."

"You won't, Ma. I can take care of myself."

Whin chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead. "I know, sweet. Just be careful, all right?"

Narzenim smiled. "Will do." With that, she began to resume putting away the clean dishes.

-

A soft knock on her door woke Whin and a second later, Narzenim walked in, stuffed dragon held to her chest. "Something bad will happen."

Whin sighed as her daughter sat in front of her on the bed. "I have that same feeling too." She admitted.

Narzenim nodded. "I think it has something to do with Bee." While Whin hadn't met the boy, she knew that her daughter and he were close friends. She also knew from what Narzenim told her, that he was very close to Orion. "I don't think they'll listen to me, though."

Whin sighed again and rubbed her face. "I'll talk to Orion tomorrow. Will that be acceptable?" Narzenim nodded and went back to sleep without a word.

_'Sometimes I wonder if she'll ever have a real childhood.'_

Ranthanoss snorted. **–She doesn't have a childhood out of her own choice. I think she feels that she needs to grow up fast to be useful.-**

Whin sighed. Don't give us that, Whin. You wanted that when you were her age.

'_That was decades ago, Syrioss._' Whin told him. _'I'm different now.'_

**-Because like her, you chose to grow up fast to be useful.-** Ran told her sensibly. **–You waited for decades before you finally begin to feel useful in this whole stupid war.-**

Whin shook her head. '_I'm going back to sleep._' She declared and her mind-voices fell silent.

She had a lot to think about.

-

Later that day when Whin stepped into the shop, Narzenim and Bee greeted her cheerfully from the desk. "I came here to talk to Orion."

Bee hesitated. "Is that really such a good idea?"

Whin gave him a small smile. "No, it's not, but I really need to talk to him."

Narzenim jumped up and walked into the garage area of the shop, leaving Bee and Whin standing there. After a moment's hesitation, Bee picked up the phone and called Orion while Whin followed her daughter.

_'She looks happy.'_

**-Indeed.-** Ran's deep voice echoed in her skull. **–Like a kid in a toy store but without the annoying.-** Whin chuckled out loud, not caring that Bee gave her a strange look.

_'What am I going to do if she wants to join?'_ Whin's eyes closed at the mere thought of it and she sighed. _'Do I join with her or do I let her go like I did…'_

Let her make her own choice, Whin. Syrioss spoke up. If she wishes to join, then allow her. If she asks you to join with her, then do so and do not back out on your word unless you wish to live in guilt for the rest of your life.

Whin was silent for a long moment_. 'Okay._'

**-Heads up. Here comes the big man.-** Syrioss snorted at that and with a shake of her head, Whin silenced them before turning to look at her brother.

"_Now_ what do you want?" Orion growled, wiping grease off his hands with a rag he had slung over his shoulder.

"Something bad will happen to someone very close to you if you're not careful." Whin told him seriously, golden eyes flat behind their blue glasses.

Immediately her brother bristled. "Is that a threat?"

Whin stuffed her anger back and merely glared at him. "It's a warning. You'd best heed it or you may lose someone you truly care about." She gave him a pointed look before continuing. "Regardless of how you feel about me – or how much you hate me – remember that I will always be there for you when it feels like your heart was ripped to shreds and trampled on." With a grim nod, she left the shop.

-

Jazz poked his head into the kitchen to find Whin cooking. "Where's Narzenim?" he asked, drawing the woman's attention.

"Soccer practice. She'll be home late today. Where's Prowl?"

"Napping." Jazz drew a stool over and sat, watching Whin move about the kitchen for a while. "What did you mean last night?"

Immediately Whin's eyes were on him. "I don't understand your question." She told him stiffly. "Elaborate."

Jazz bristled at the almost-hostile tone. "About the Seer. Do you know who he is?"

Whin snorted. "I know where _she_ is, yes. I know her very well and the only way I'm letting her join any side in your stupid war is if she really wants to."

"Who are you bound to?" golden eyes bore into his at the question.

"No one but myself." She growled at last.

"What do you mean by not giving the Seer to us? We wouldn't force her to do anything."

Whin said nothing for a long while, occupying herself with putting the hot food on plates. When she was done, she turned and stalked over to Jazz who stifled the urge to back up. "I watch over the Seer. She is like a daughter to me and I cannot bear to see her hurt. I know the status of your war enough to know that you desperately need her because you are horribly outnumbered. She will remain neutral with me until she makes a decision to whichever side she wishes to join, if she ever does choose."

"Daughter…Narzenim's the Seer?" the sudden thought hit Jazz and he stood abruptly, knocking over the stool.

With a growl, Whin nodded, watching as Jazz raced out of the kitchen, no doubt to call Orion. She growled again and shook her head, kicking the stool before returning to the kitchen to finish dinner.

-

When Narzenim came home, she gave Jazz an odd look before climbing the stairs to her room. When she returned for dinner, she carried an odd sort of compass with her which she placed beside her plate.

"Is something wrong, Narzenim?" Whin asked gently and the girl looked up at her, giving her a hug.

"Orion will be coming over soon." She told her mother, voice muffled.

Whin sighed. "Good thing I made a lot of food." Narzenim pulled away and sat down to eat, keeping her odd compass under one hand all the while. Whin was just finishing her plate when Narzenim looked up then at the door.

"He's outside." She said seconds before someone knocked on the door. Getting up, Narzenim trotted to the door and hauled it open.

Whin stood up as a sopping wet Orion walked in, pausing at the door to the warmly-lit dining room. His hair was messy and matted down, water dripping of the ends and making tracks down his face, mingling with his tears. In one hand was a length of grimy gold fabric, clenched tightly in his fist.

Seeing his sister, he ran over, embracing her and nearly tackling her. Whin, to her credit, merely rocked backwards and reciprocated his embrace, resting her cheek on his hair as her brother cried into her chest.

-

Calmer now and wrapped in a towel, Orion sat at the table, eating. The scrap of fabric was still clenched in his hand and he continued to shake. Across from him, Whin sat, looking as if she was thinking. "I've called Jumper and Firebird; they're on their way as we speak." She said at last. "They'll help me track him down, Orion, but I won't be able to get him back on my own. Call your men. When we found where they're holding him, we'll return and take you there."

Orion shook his head. "No. We should all go together. That way once we find the base, we can rescue Bumblebee right away. Who knows what they're doing to him now?"

Whin looked at Narzenim whose green eyes were closed. "Nothing. They've tossed him in a cold, damp cell, but they haven't harmed him in any way other than to rough him up a little."

"Do you know their direction and distance?"

"Five minutes dragon-back, headed due north." Narzenim replied after a pause. "Not sure who, though."

"Likely Slash and Blackout. They're two of the fastest in the air, and Megatron wouldn't want to go himself; he'd send his subordinates. One to retrieve Bee, the other for backup. They may even have a Shapeshifter with them." Whin said thoughtfully, calculating. "Slash was pretty fast when we were young, so if she grew at the same rate I did, then she'd be over twice as fast. Flying full-speed in good weather for five minutes could put them at around ten miles away, if my math's correct."

Orion's lips moved as he calculated that. "That would put them at a hundred and twenty miles per hour!"

Whin nodded idly, concentrating more on her math than what her brother was saying. "If they're smart they'll keep changing altitude to find the jetstreams, but stay low enough for Bee to breathe. However, the weather's bad so they'll have to stay low to the treetops to avoid getting struck by lightning. The wind is crazy out there, so it is unlikely that they'd be flying very far; perhaps five or six miles but no more. If they're six miles away, it'll likely take us seven minutes if we travel by dragon and be careful and not run into anything unpleasant." She looked at her daughter. "Will I need my armor?" Narzenim shook her head. "Okay then. Twenty minutes to scout and get back, then seven minutes to get there. That'll give you guys plenty of time to get ready." Narzenim nodded as the door opened, revealing a massive man.

Seeing them in the dining room, he walked over. He stood taller than Whin, looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the muscle department. His skin was dark like Whin's and his hair was in a plethora of tiny braids, each ending in a steel-gray and blue bead. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark army fatigues. "Sorry for the delay, Whin." He rumbled. "'Bird and I were held up a bit by the rain."

Whin gave them a sad smile. "Well, we'll be in the rain a lot tonight. Autobot Bumblebee was taken today, and we estimate that the place they took him to is perhaps six miles away to the north. You, 'Bird and I will scout the area then return to take everyone else there."

The man saluted her jauntily, baring sharp fangs. "I do love tracking." Whin shook her head in amusement and turned to Orion.

"Is that what he was wearing?" she asked her brother who looked at the scrap of fabric in his hand.

"Yea." Whin beckoned for it and reluctantly Optimus handed it to her. She then brought it to her face before handing it to the man who did the same. Handing it back to Optimus, she turned to Narzenim.

"You know what to do, right? They'll likely try to attack while we're gone, so be prepared, and we'll be back shortly. Don't forget to get the harnesses." With a nod to the rest of them, the man and Whin ran outside.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what's going on." Prowl said quietly, having listened to what was going on around him.

Narzenim gave him a small smile. "We're going to rescue my friend using a few…ah, inhuman tricks."

"'We'?" Orion echoed, looking at her. "You are not coming."

Calmly, Narzenim turned and regarded him. "I am, too, coming. You'll need me in any case." She held up her hand when Orion was about to deny it. "We have been following the track of your war, and we know the odds piled against you. You have with you three full-warriors including yourself, one healer, and a Shapeshifter whose Mark isn't yet fully active. Against you, you have _fourteen_ full-warriors, five of which are Dragons, and four of which are Shapeshifters. Unless you wish to be killed before the war has even fully started, you'd best allow us to help." She propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. "With us in addition to your three full-warriors, healer, and half-warrior, you'll have three full-warriors, one of which is a Dragon larger than most of the Decepticons. You'll also have a Seer – _the _Seer, in fact, willing to help if not join your merry band of guerilla warriors."

"Full-warriors?" Jazz echoed.

Narzenim smiled. "Those whose Marks are fully activated. You'd best call your comrades now, or we'll have to wait."

"Already done. They should be here soon." Jazz told the Seer who nodded and true to his word, they appeared five minutes later.

"One thing I regret is involving Prowl in this." Jazz told Narzenim quietly as they settled to wait in the living room.

Emerald eyes regarded him. "Prowl will be involved in this regardless if he was thrust into it tonight or gently drawn into it tomorrow." The Seer replied. She looked down at her odd compass-thing for a moment before looking up. "I have a feeling that Prowl will greatly affect the outcome of tonight, so don't protest when he announces that he wishes to accompany us." With a nod to him, Narzenim walked over to Orion and spoke quietly with the man.

"Ratchet, do you know if Prowl's Marked?" Jazz asked the medic in an undertone.

Ratchet looked back at him in surprise. "I would think that you'd know that, not _me_." He glanced at Narzenim. "The girl seems odd, though."

Jazz snorted. "That's Whin's adopted daughter Narzenim. She's Marked, all right. She's the Seer."

"You're kidding." Ironhide rumbled and Narzenim looked over at them, raising a bright red eyebrow but otherwise ignoring them.

"Interesting." Ratchet murmured but said nothing more as a thunderous growling echoed outside.

Narzenim was on her feet in a second. "Jazz, Prowl, take them down to the cellar and lock the doors and barricade the windows." A shadow passed the window; a flash of darkness, silvery-gray and white. The growling resumed and a great red eye peered into the window. "Now." She shooed them downstairs, following them after a moment and locking the door.

"What is that, Narzenim?" Orion asked warily as the girl whistled; the wan light flickered on and she moved to lock and bar the solitary window.

"Barricade, the smaller of the two Decepticon land-dragons." She replied after looking at her compass. "He may have a Shapeshifter with him, so we have to be careful."

"I say we just go out and bust his ass." Ironhide rumbled and a red eyebrow rose for the second time at him that night.

"If you want to go up against a thirteen-foot Dragon empty-handed, then be my guest, but if you get killed, I'm not the one explaining it to Mom."

"Thirteen feet? He doesn't sound that big." Ironhide muttered and Narzenim propped her fists on her hips.

"Thirteen feet tall with a very, very bad attitude is enough for me." She told him flatly.

"How big is your mother?" Orion interrupted and Narzenim blinked, thinking.

"Shhh." She flapped a hand at him, lights going out. A shadow passed the tiny window and paused, snuffing.

"I know you're in there, little humans." A deep, thunderous voice said, drifting in through the window. "You cannot hide from Barricade."

"Have you found them, Barricade?" another, deeper (if that was at all possible), rougher voice asked.

"Affirmative. They're in the cellar." Barricade rumbled and unconsciously Prowl backed up until he felt Jazz's soothing presence at his back.

"Bonecrusher." Narzenim whispered softly as the new voice grunted.

"Stand aside, Barricade." There was a hiss (likely from Barricade) and suddenly the house began to shake. Quickly, Narzenim packed the compass in a pouch over her stomach and beneath her shirt, settling into a fighting crouch as the glass in the window shattered. The house shook again and an enormous _crack_ announced the splintering of wood; great cracks spread across the wall.

The door behind them burst open and the man there grinned maliciously. Narzenim whirled around as he pounced, turning into a lion in midair. With a furious hiss, Narzenim absorbed the blow and flipped backwards, becoming a spotted leopard and sinking long fangs into the lion's face. The lion yowled as the wall collapsed, revealing two enormous creatures.

The first, most visible of the two was also larger, looking like a tank on legs. It had great slabs of armor that was part of it rather than anything placed over its bony skin. They were like enormous spots, orange-brown edged with pebbly violet-brown scales over leathery green-brown skin. Its tail was thick and heavy, good for bludgeoning as well as balance. Blood-red eyes glared at them from the great horned head that towered nearly twenty feet above them.

The second was slightly smaller, perhaps two feet shorter at the shoulder. Most of it was covered in fur, black-blue-violet on its sides and legs, silver-gray on its left foreleg, and indigo-violet on its belly. Its spine bore silver-gray scales and white spikes that went to the tip of its long, slender tail. Its face had a canine shape though spikes jutted from its angry brows and jawline. The top part of its face was slate-gray, abruptly becoming fur just above its upper jaw before smoothing back into pure white scales. A canine nose gave it a sort of odd look, but the angry red eyes didn't allow them to poke fun at it. Between the scales and fur on its back, blue-violet spikes edged its back, and odd, elephantine-slash-bird-like feet ended the ensemble.

Narzenim yowled and alarmed, Ironhide whirled to find that she was being backed into a corner by a nearly-invisible panther in addition to the lion from before. Four more people entered the cellar, two of which bore great coils of rope. A third bore a strange sort of collar and muzzle and advanced on Narzenim who was being held down by a gorilla. The other three moved and began herding them toward the gaping hole in the wall.

Suddenly the air was split with a great roar that shook the trees; an immense red shape burst from the forest and leapt at the larger of the two creatures, fangs buried in the armored neck and claws drawing long furrows in the bony skin. The creature roared, caught unawares, and nearly fell to the ground. The blackish one leapt on the red's back. All three toppled over, the red over the armored one's neck.

The new creature was the largest of all of them, a good twenty feet tall at the shoulder. It had reddish scales and a gray underbelly of hard, armored plates. Its tail was abnormally long and ended in spikes that cracked like a whip as it lashed through the air. Its forehead was armored, colored gray-brown and ended in two sharp points behind its head. Golden eyes swirled to orange and red as the creature slashed and bit the other two, tail proving to be deadly as it made the air sing with the golden blades.

While they watched the enormous creatures battle, more men had come and tied up those in the cellar.

"Stop." A great voice commanded and all three creatures paused. The red was on its hind legs, cuts and scrapes bleeding sluggishly. "Barricade. Bonecrusher. Stand down." The other two backed away, growling. "I suggest you do the same." The man told the red, motioning at the bound humans and muzzled snow leopard being pulled out of the cellar. "You wouldn't want someone to get hurt, now, would you?" a knife appeared in the man's hand as another group of men dragged over a set of chains, harness, and muzzle. A hand fisted in Prowl's hair and yanked his head back, pressing the sharp tip of the blade to the hollow of his throat. "Come down and be good, now." The man grinned maliciously.

Golden eyes suddenly lost the fight and with a long, mournful moan, then red sank to all fours and lowered its head, reluctantly allowing the men to chain and muzzle it.

The man smiled as their new prisoners were loaded on the red's back and tied in place to the heavy metal harness they forced her to wear. Barricade and Bonecrusher flanked her while the kidnappers scrambled up the latter dragon, fearing Barricade's sharp spikes more than Bonecrusher's loping gate and foul attitude.

Wait 'til Megatron saw what he, Blackout, brought him.

* * *

**Ina's Monologue:**

**Ookay. This will be a long monologue. O.o**

**Seer: Once more, we return to the topic of the Seer, and once more she won't be explained very much in the Monologue, as she will be explained sometime later in the story. Essentially part of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons is to find the Seer and get them for join their side; with the Seer their power has the potential to be near limitless, as there are many things that she can do for them. **

**Seer's Compass (the compass thing Narzenim was playing with earlier) : The Seer's Compass is like the alethiometer in _The Golden Compass_ (the book is better than the movie in my opinion...), but it doesn't 'measure' the truth. The Seer's Compass can answer any question directed by anyone, yet only gives the right answer to the Seer. For example, five people could ask it what one plus one equals to: the five people would get the incorrect answers, but if the Seer asked it, then the Compass would tell her that one plus one equals two. The Compass has thirteen symbols, each with their own meanings: Angel: Pure-spirited, innocent; willing to do the right thing even if it means injuring oneself. Ant: One always willing to take orders from those theey see stronger and more powerful; hardworking, loyal servants; vulnerable due to inability to change shape. Bear: fierce fighter, angry when provoked; strong, steadfast, hard to budge, stubborn. Caduceus: Medic or one who wishes to help others instead of doing harm. Cat: free-spirited and independent; acts on one's own thoughts instead of what they are told to do; instinctual. Dragon: courageous, strong, fierce when provoked; possessing an unusual trait that sets them apart from others; independent, disinclined to follow orders; stubborn. Hawk: Having the alternate form of a bird, usually a bird of prey; free-spirited, independent, predatorial. Lion: Brave and courageous, royal and just leader. Shield: Protector of the weak; strong, steadfast, brave. Spyglass: Spy or one who Sees. Sword: Warrior with a fierce fighting skill; bloodthirsty and trigger-happy. Torch: Leadership or sorcery, or having such skills; passionate. Wolf: A friendly person, strong and fast; works well with others unlike solitary Dragons, Hawks, and Cats.**

**Active (Marks) and full-warriors: In this context, Narzenim's concept of 'full-warriors' refers to the activation of their Marks. As mentioned last chapter in the 'Marks' Monologue, I mentioned that the Marks appear on the day of birth, disappears the next day, and then reappears when the Mark becomes Active. The speed in which a Mark activates depends on the person; there is no set time. For example, Whin's Mark activated in the space of three to four years while Ironhide and Jazz's Marks activated in the space of a day.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Minga: Apologies for the long wait; Ina was being a pain and not working on the fight. From what I understand, track's been killing her.**

**Ina: ((had fallen asleep at the computer))**

**Minga: Oh well. On with the story!**

**WARNING: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE. Lots of GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE. Ina got down as much as she was able to, but believe it or not, she envisioned it much differently, with a _lot_. more. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE. XD;;**

* * *

"What is going on now?" Prowl asked and Narzenim looked at him, green eyes almost glowing in the gloom.

Narzenim shook her head at last. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The leopard told him wryly, settling herself down in a corner.

Orion shook his head as well. "Narzenim, I think you'll have to explain things to us because I have no idea what's going on."

The leopard's fur bristled and she became a tiger, green eyes bright. "Let's start from the beginning, then, for Prowl's benefit." She settled herself down and began. "Prowl, you and I are in between an age-old battle between the Autobots and Decepticons – good and evil respectively. Your 

friends – Orion, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Bee – are on the Autobot's side, and those that captured us tonight are on the side of the Decepticons." She told him.

"How are you able to change shape?" Prowl asked, leaning against the bars. Despite there being enough room for the red creature from before to turn around comfortably, Prowl was in a cell next to them. It was evidently part of the cell they were in, for the only thing separating them was a row of bars.

"All of us – including you, Prowl – have these two abstract, tattoo-like Marks on our body. These define our characters as well as our alternate form." Narzenim replied easily, changing into a lioness with a huff. "There are certain rules regarding them, and actually, they're rather simple. If one's two Marks are animals, then their character as well as their alternate form is a cross of those two animals. If one's two Marks are objects, then they are shapeshifters, not bound to any one shape."

"Prowl is Marked?" Jazz asked, eyes alight with happiness but also alarm.

Narzenim nodded solemnly, changing once more into a snow leopard. "What are his symbols?" Orion asked and Narzenim shook her head.

"Now is not the time." She told them.

The door was opened and a very pissed Whin was shoved in, eyes red as blood. Unlike the others barring Narzenim who wore nothing to bind tem, Whin bore long bands of iron wrapped around her arms from just above her wrists to just below her elbows. She caught sight of them, even Prowl who was sitting against the wall near the bars, as close to Jazz as he could manage to get.

Her eyes softened slightly. "Are you guys all right?" she asked softly but pitching her voice just right so it'd carry to them.

"As well as can be expected. Are you injured?" Orion asked, standing and walking over.

Whin shook her head. "I am, but they're minor and I'll manage. I'm more worried about what they're going to do to you than what they'll do with me."

"Do you know what they want?" Ratchet asked and Whin sighed.

"Currently they have a grand total of five dragons, most of which are shorter than twenty feet. Two can't fly and the rest can – at incredible speeds. They have _four_ shapeshifters, a hawk, a bear, and two who can't change their shape." Whin told them flatly, listing the numbers in a matter-of-fact tone. "If they manage to get us to allow them to Brand us, they'll have two more dragons, a Cat, a lion, a winged feline, two shapeshifters, one of which is the Seer, and two Dragons. Really, Ratchet. What would they want?" Her eyes closed and she rubbed a hand tiredly over them. "Sorry. If they can't persuade us, they'll try to break us."

"That can't be good." Ironhide muttered and Whin rolled her eyes. 

The door clanged open and Whin turned as two men entered, bearing long metal spear-looking things in their hand. The door was closed by a third man who leaned against the bars to watch.

The first was a lithe man with long red-brown hair tied messily behind his head. Red-orange eyes stared at Whin who glared right back. He stretched, muscles rippling beneath his bare chest and shook his head, growling. 

The second man was slender but just as lithe. Unlike the other, his hair was brown-black and neatly tied behind his head. Like the first, he wore no shirt but didn't display his muscles to look intimidating; instead, he swung his spear-thing idly as the first stepped forward.

"Stay against the walls." Whin told them over her shoulder, gently pushing Orion back as she moved to the center of the cell.

"Mighty Megatron has ordered us to fight you. To the deaths." The first man rumbled, eyes eager for bloodshed.

"As you wish. You have come to your deaths." Whin replied with a courteous nod.

"Oh my." Ratchet said faintly. "This won't end well." Ironhide snorted but agreed nonetheless.

"I will fight you first." The man continued and Whin nodded. She placed her right fist in her left hand and gave a Chinese bow.

"As you wish." She stood in a loose stance and waited as the man swung his spear before charging like an angry bull. Nimbly she hopped aside, smirking as the man roared and charged back. She clucked her tongue as she dodged once more. "My, my, Inferno. So _angry_."

"Arrogant, aren't you?" the second man asked, looping his spear around her neck from behind.

"Think we're smart, do we, Shockwave?" Whin gave him a cruel smile before grabbing him and flipping him over her shoulder. His spear dropped from his hands and Whin picked it up, swinging it back and forth experimentally as Inferno paused, just out of reach of her new weapon.

"For Megatron!" with that roar, Inferno flung his spear at her. She ducked and snatched it out of the air before whirling and flinging it back at him. Inferno dodged and rolled, coming up to her right. "Missed me." He sneered, and Whin smiled as Shockwave screamed in pain.

"I wasn't aiming for you." She nodded at the other man who was now pinned to the wall by his hand, impaled by the spear. She looked at the other spear in her hand and flung it at the wall, embedding it in the rock. "Now. Let's go hand-to-hand." She settled into a crouch, waiting for Inferno to move.

Inferno charged at her with a roar and they grappled for a moment, searching for a good grip on the other. Whin found it first and lifted him easily, throwing Inferno hard on the floor. The man staggered back up, glaring at Whin. He threw a wild punch at her face which she dodged and batted him lightly.

"Stop toying with me." He hissed, shaking his head to clear it. "Damn it stop toying with me."

"As you wish." He was lifted by his neck into the air and found himself staring into cold blood-red eyes so much like Barricade's. He was slammed into the wall then thrown once more to the floor in a dizzy heap. He scrambled up with the help of the wall nearby and roared in pain as Whin slammed a fist into his gut. "Do you want me to toy with you now?" she hissed in his ear, voice gone cold. He didn't have time to answer, for he was thrown across the cell, landing in the middle and staggering to his knees to the middle.

He looked up to find Whin standing over him, spear in hand. "Finish me." He told her, knowing in his gut that he wouldn't win this fight no matter what. That being said, he hung his head.

Whin swung the spear back and forth and suddenly raised it, slamming it hard across his head. The now-headless body fell to the ground and Whin turned hard eyes on Shockwave who was still struggling with his impaled hand. Whin hefted the bloody spear, watching the blood drip down over her hand and closed her eyes. When they opened, they were trained on Shockwave who was furiously trying to pull the spear out of his hand. Blood dripped down from the spear as Whin approached him. Easily, she yanked the spear out and dropped it at his feet. 

"Get up and fight, you gutless coward." She growled, heaving him to his feet and shoving the spear in his hand. With a cry, Shockwave ran from him to the bars near where Barricade lounged.

"Let me out." He cried to the other Decepticon, shaking the bars furiously. "Let me out!"

"What's the matter, Shockwave? You don't want to play anymore?" there was an eerie tone to Whin's voice that made Orion shiver. He could hardly imagine what the Decepticon was feeling and concluded that he really didn't want to know.

"Barricade! Let me out!" Shockwave wailed as Whin advanced slowly on him. She was in no real rush.

The other man rumbled. "No. Your orders were to fight to the death, so fight."

"He's right, Shockwave; neither of us is dead, so by rights we should still be fighting." Whin fairly purred, bloody hand moving to grab the Decepticon by his neck. She tossed him easily back into the middle of the cell, circling. "Don't you want to have some fun?" her eyes were red, Orion realized with a start. Blood-red, and she wore a sort of crazy grin on her face as she toyed with the Decepticon – her victim. His pathetic little punches were mere taps compared to the crushing blows they had seen her deal out with Inferno. Now she was just toying with him in a way she hadn't with Inferno; letting him come close, making him think he had her only to flip him on his back none too gently.

He happened to land near his spear and before Whin could react, he had hurled it through her stomach. Surprised, the woman took a step back, looking down inquisitively at the metal protrusion. 

"Who's the winner now, bitch?" Shockwave hissed, scrambling to his feet. 

"You think a little scratch like this'll stop me?" Whin asked in that peculiar tone. She grabbed the spear and with a practiced jerk, snapped off the tip. With a predatory grin, she drew the metal shaft out her back and held it up for the Decepticon to see. "Are you going to fight now, Shockwave?" she swung the broken spear back and forth for a while before pausing, bringing it to her face. "Are you ready to fight yet?" she asked, licking the spear almost seductively. She flicked her tongue out and licked up the blood on her lips, watching her victim all the while.

"H-how? How is that possible?" Shockwave demanded, pressing himself against the wall. 

Whin gave him a devilish smile. "I'm a Dragon, Shockwave," she told him, spreading her arms. "What do you expect?"

In a last-ditch effort, Shockwave threw himself at her, hoping to get her off-balance long enough for him to make a break for the door to the cell. Whin caught him easily, holding him up by the throat. She gave him a strange look. "You're beginning to irritate me," she told him calmly. "You'll die now." Easily, she threw him to the ground, leaving him gasping. As nonchalantly as you please, she slashed 

across his chest with her hands, clawing the Decepticon enough to make his chest look like ground beef while holding him down and dodging his weak protests and ignoring his screams.

At last she plunged her hand into his chest. It emerged a second later with a reddish mass clutched in her fist. For a long moment she knelt there, looking curiously at the Decepticon's heart and ignoring the blood that dribbled down her arm. "I half expected to find an empty void there," she told the body without looking away from the bloody mass in her hand. "Guess I was wrong, really." Whin looked down at the dead Decepticon whose face was frozen in a mask of terror and agony. "I'd eat it – you know the old tradition of eating the heart of your opponents after single combat (though this could hardly be called combat) – but I don't want to be poisoned by your black heart." She flung the mass away with a grimace of disgust before looking back down at Shockwave's body.

Muttering quietly to herself she lifted the body and flung it with unerring accuracy to the door of the cell. Approaching Inferno's body, she lifted it – with his severed head on his stomach and the broken spears next to it – in a respectful fashion and carried it to the door where Barricade stood with a large cart.

"How badly are you injured?" he rumbled, tossing Shockwave's body into the cart and gently putting Inferno's in.

"Not badly," Whin replied, leaning against the wall to watch. "It'll heal fast, but it all depends on the reason you're asking."

Barricade grunted, closing the door. "Megatron wants to see you fight." He told her bluntly. He gave her a piercing glare that seemed more inquisitive than angry. "I'll see what I can do." He said at last, rolling the cart away.

Whin watched him for a moment before turning around. She took a few steps forward before pausing; noting the horrified and sickened looks her friends wore. She blinked for a second and looked down at her bloody hands. Her eyes became sad, and she looked back up at her friends, sighing, before turning back around and sitting down against the wall near the bars. 

Narzenim got up and padded over to her, curling up at her mother's side and for a moment, silence reined in the large cell. Whin looked down at the cougar and said something quietly to her; Narzenim nodded and padded back over, head down, but not before her mother ripped the metal muzzle off as if it were made of paper.

"Have you ever seen her do that?" Jazz asked Ratchet, Ironhide, and Orion in a jaded voice; he figured that the three older men may have, for he was sure that he and Prowl hadn't.

Ironhide shook his head. "No, but we knew she was capable of doin' it." Across the cell, Whin winced and looked away.

"She saved us once," Ratchet told them, looking over at the older woman. "It was how we were able to get home early."

"What happened?" Orion asked after Ratchet stopped, looking as if he was debating whether or not to go and check up on his friend. 

"We had settled down for the night an' Whin was with us in the tent, 'bout to get some shuteye herself. An' then there was this whole shoutin' match going on outside," Ironhide said, looking over at 

Ratchet. "Whin went out to check an' got shot a few times; rebels had infiltrated the camp an' were reakin' merry havoc on our unit. Long story short, Whin got mad, killed the rebels, and saved the remaining survivors. Meanin' saved jus' me an' Ratch'."

"She's told me about that," Narzenim said with a nod. "She said that was one of the few times she's ever lost her temper."

Jazz glanced toward the woman who stared blankly at the wall. "And this is another, right?"

Narzenim's ears went flat and she looked away. Ratchet shook his head. "No, Jazz, it wasn't."

"You must understand that there is a lot about Whin that you aren't meant to know." Narzenim told them quietly, ears flat and eyes sad. "She has remarkable control over herself and her actions but even she has her limits. She is a fighter at heart – that's what she was born to do, essentially, and despite hiding it and burying it she yearns for a good fight. How would you feel if you were in her position, Jazz? She's been denying the bloodlust for so long that when she was faced with a fight – a perfect fight to the death where she didn't have to worry about hurting or killing someone she loves…how can you expect her to turn it down?"

Anything anyone else was about to say was interrupted as Barricade opened the door. He looked over at Whin, then the rest of them in the opposite end of the cell. "Come." He told them bluntly; a door opened in Prowl's cell as he stood warily.

Whin stood cautiously and walked up to him, conferring with him in quiet tones before stepping back and nodding. "It is safe," she told them, not meeting their eyes. Without a word, she stepped into the hallway and waited as they emerged slowly from the bars.

"You're not worried that we'd run off?" Jazz asked, peering at Barricade. "I mean, there's like seven of us and three of you." Indeed two more – twin brothers – had joined them, walking just behind them.

"I'm not worried." Barricade told him. "I'm a Dragon, and if things got out of hand, Whin here could easily take care of you."

Whin ignored the distrustful stares she got from her friends and focused more on walking down the hall just behind Barricade. Ironhide walked up beside her and tried to meet her eyes. "So are you on _their_ side?" he asked, contempt evident in his voice.

Whin looked sidelong at him. "No." she told him softly. "I will remain neutral."

"Are you a traitor, then?" his tone was angry now, and Whin didn't answer him.

"She is not a traitor." Barricade rumbled in her defense, much to Ironhide's surprise. "We have found ways to control Dragons, and we used such methods on her; she is doing none of this willingly."

"Except for killing Shockwave and Inferno." Jazz muttered to Prowl who nodded. Whin winced and continued to walk beside Narzenim.

Barricade growled. "Windtreader is one of the most honorable people I have met." He snarled. "Show some respect."

Whin said something to him in a strange, odd language consisting mostly of odd, guttural sounds that seemed impossible to produce from a human's vocal cords. Barricade growled in response and looked away, continuing to lead the way. The twins had ditched them somewhere along the way.

Narzenim's head was hung and she trailed forlornly behind everyone else until Bee moved to walk beside her. The girl offered him a weary smile that he timidly returned. "Don't be scared." He said quietly. "We'll find a way out."

Green eyes regarded him and Bee realized then that it was as if Narzenim was a whole lot older than she let on; there was a deep weariness he had only seen shimmering in his grandfather's eyes. "Oh, I know that; I have faith in Whin and Jumper and Firebird, but what I'm really worried about now is what will happen to them – and us – in the mean time." Narzenim gave a world-weary sigh, ignoring Bee's startled look. Jazz and Prowl who had been walking nearby, slowed to listen; Orion did the same as Ironhide and Ratchet eyed Whin warily. "The Decepticons know better than to kill any of us off, as they need Whin as sane as they can get her; if they mess too much with her head, then she'll snap and Hell will be unleashed. Jumper and Firebird are laying low and waiting for Whin's signal. All she needs to do is find us a way out without endangering us in any way."

Orion snorted. "That's impossible; she can't take on the Decepticon army herself!"

Intense green eyes regarded him. "Nothing is impossible except slamming a revolving door." The teen told him dryly. "At any rate, you'll see what she can do in a little while; it is beyond what any of you can do at the moment."

Barricade led them into a large room with a steaming pool the size of a football field at its center. Smaller showers lined the walls, and in an alcove piles of towels and robes were neatly folded. A bizarre creature was carrying in a basket full of linens through another door and seeing them, paused as if unsure. Barricade beckoned to it and warily it made its way over. Closer, the Autobots got a good look at it.

It stood nearly seven feet tall even though it was hunched over. In some instances it resembled a centaur of Greek myth, though its back was too sloped. It seemed to be made of metal, bone, and wood, wired, hammered, and screwed together somehow. Its head was tear-drop shaped and it sported two mouths; one above the pits that must serve as its eyes and the other in the usual place, both lined with grotesque fangs like shards of broken glass that were at such an angle that it couldn't completely close either of its mouths. Its neck was long and made of chain, rope, bone, and metal. Both legs were wheels and on the shoulders of the thing, another pair of metal, wood, and bone arms emerged almost delicately; with this it bore the basket of linens.

The creature put the basket down near the folded towels and robes and made its way delicately over to them. There, it bowed low to Barricade and edged away from Whin. "Aye, Master Barricade?" it asked in a raspy croak that sounded more like a bullfrog than anything else. As it talked, both mouths opened and closed though it was unclear as to where the sound actually came from.

"Fetch for me suitable clothes for the Autobots in the correct sizes." Barricade ordered, eyes flicking toward the Autobots before turning to look at the creature.

"Specifics, Master Barricade? I cannot function on assumptions." The thing croaked with another bow.

"Fighting clothes for Mistress Whin and comfortable clothes for the others." Barricade replied. "Good condition, mind."

"Aye, Master Barricade." The thing bowed again and rolled away at a ground-eating pace. Within seconds it was gone.

"Creative." Whin said blandly and Barricade shrugged.

It soon returned with another basket, this one filled with clothes which it gently put down at Barricade's feet. "Can this humble Conjure do anything else for you, Master Barricade?"

"Yes, actually. Keep watch over the young Seer Narzenim over there. Ensure that none of the others try to mess with her." red eyes flicked to Narzenim whose face was carefully blank. "You never know."

"As you wish, Master Barricade." The creature wheeled over to Narzenim, pausing to regard Jazz, Prowl, and Orion who moved to step between them; Bee had grabbed the girl's arm and was staring at the creature, looking as if he would throw himself at it if it made any other move toward his friend.

The girl slid out of his grasp and slowly approached the creature, aware that her adopted mother was standing rigidly nearby, worried for her safety. In front of the creature, she gave a short bow which it returned slowly, as if surprised. "Hello." Narzenim said softly and Whin relaxed.

"Hello, Seer Narzenim." The thing croaked. "This humble Conjure has been ordered to ensure your safety. Is this permissible?" 

Narzenim nodded and gave a short bow which the Conjure returned. Pleasantries apparently over, Narzenim wandered toward Whin as the thing followed dutifully. Barricade nodded and looked at the Autobots, eyes resting on Whin's bloody hands. "You can get cleaned up here. Cameroon will ensure you have everything you need." He added as another Conjure rolled in, summoned somehow. "From there I will take you to the Thorne Room and then the Arena." He turned to Narzenim and hesitated. At her nod, the spoke to her in that strange language from before, the one full of low guttural sounds. With a low bow to her at the end of his small speech, he walked out the door.

Once the door was closed, Narzenim's composure fell and she threw herself at her mother, burying her face in the soothing chest of the woman that raised her. Hands covered in dried blood and encased in thick, heavy metal wrapped around her and the Conjure assigned to protect her made a low sound of comfort.

"Let's get cleaned up, Great Seer." Whin told her quietly though her voice was heavy with importance and respect. 

"I don't want to be the Great Seer to you," Narzenim whispered. "I just want to be plain old 'Sara'."

Whin gave a sad smile and rested her cheek on her daughter's head. "We were dealt a hand by Primus that we must live with to the end of our days. We must live with it whether we like it or not. Trust me, dear Sara, that I don't want to expose you to war at such a young age. The last thing I wanted you to see was the death of any living creature, but we are at war. So please put a brave face and let your friend keep an eye on you." She nodded to the Conjure. "I know it's hard, dear one, but come. Let's get cleaned up."

With a nod, Narzenim allowed herself to the led to the water's edge where she slid in, clothes and all. Whin turned and looked at the rest of them. "Get cleaned up and relax a bit. It's going to be a long night." That said, she slid into the water.

The Conjure assigned to protect Narzenim made a sad sound and kept a sharp pit-eye on her as she swum around. Whin swam to the bottom of the pool and sat there as if sulking. Little by little the blood came off her hands and clothes, though she scarcely took notice. She leaned against the wall and stared up at the light, meditating.

"What did Barricade tell you?" Ironhide demanded when Narzenim surfaced next.

She hesitated. "He told me what was going to happen to us and that he was sorry for the orders he will have to follow."

The big man snorted. "A Decepticon? Sorry? Pheh." 

Ratchet was peering into the pool at Whin. "Is it normal for her to stay submerged as such for such a long time?"

Narzenim looked over at her adopted mother who showed no sign of surfacing. "Not really. She can hold her breath for a long time." As if she could they were talking about her, Whin looked up at them, eyes bright. Narzenim frowned and nodded, turning to look at the gathered Autobots. "She asked me to tell you a story that she thinks you should know. Prowl especially. But before I tell you the story, we should get cleaned up." Whin was swimming slowly upwards, almost lazily. When she hauled herself out of the water, Cameroon was there to hand her a towel and some clothes.

She wandered off to a stall nearby where, judging by the clothes being slung over the walls, she was changing. When she emerged, she was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit with short sleeves and hem that revealed her shoulders and navel; it resembled more of a halter-top than an actual shirt. Her shorts were long and tight-fitting, the hem coming down to her knees. She walked over to them, eyes cold. "Get cleaned up and relax." She advised them. "It's going to be a long night."

-

Barricade returned with seven more Conjures, each armed with spears or swords. He carried a pair of heavy-looking metal shackles. Whin looked over at him and nodded slowly.

"No!" Narzenim was a blur that leapt through the air and clung to her waist.

"Sweetie, I have to go." Whin said gently, calm façade cracking. 

"You don't have to." Tears fell down the girl's face and awkwardly Whin patted her back.

"Yes I do, dear one." Her voice cracked near the end and she paused before continuing. "You know it to be true." The Conjure sent to protect her – called Marui – made a low sound as if to comfort her. "Take her please, Marui." The Conjure's upper arms gently lifted the teen and pried her away from her mother as the other Conjures approached. Most of them moved to ensure that none of the others would try to free the woman as they shackled her tightly.

"No!" Narzenim changed again, into a great saber-toothed tiger. A Conjure slapped her aside and reared, about to smash her with its front tires. Whin jerked her head; she wrestled an arm free and tore an upper limb off the Conjure beside her, throwing it like a javelin through the teardrop-shaped head of the thing trying to kill her daughter. Narzenim rolled away as the Conjure fell and was on her feet in a flash, fur bristling and claws and fangs flashing. 

The Conjure behind Whin roar-shrieked and swatted her as the one missing an arm wailed. With a snarl, Whin turned and grabbed the shrieking one by it neck and swung it hard into the one trying to shackle her. 

Another grabbed her by a leg and threw her into a wall where she crumpled to the ground. Yet another moved and finished shackling her as she began moving again. It picked her up and slammed her into the wall with enough force to crack and break some of the sturdy granite that it was made of. The remaining Conjures left, one of their own carrying Whin and others carrying the pieces of their fallen comrades.

Barricade was shaking his head near the door. "I hope they didn't do much damage to her." he said blandly. "Lord Megatron wouldn't be very happy with them if they did."

"What does it matter to you?" Narzenim snapped, slowly returning to her human form.

Barricade turned and looked at her. "Read my mind, Seer. It is all there." He paused as Narzenim looked away. "As it is, I am here to escort you to a cell. From there we will travel to the Throne Room and have an audience with Lord Megatron."

-

At the new cell, Barricade left them to check up on Whin, locking the door tightly behind him and leaving Marui to guard the door. Narzenim sat down and sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"What did you need to tell us?" Orion asked, trying to find a way to break the silence.

Narzenim looked up at them and motioned for them to sit. "A story. Where shall I begin?"

"How about the beginning?" Prowl asked gently though he was inwardly dying of curiosity.

"Mukashi mukashi…"

"English please, Narzenim." Jazz said with a chuckled. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Once upon a time, there was a young woman. She was studying to become an EMT in addition to volunteering at a local hospital. She was charming but hardly smiled, and many thought it was because she was lonely; no one knew where her family was or if she even had any family. Well, one day she met a soldier-medic who brought in a friend who as injured. He charmed her and she fell head over heels for him, so much so that it was obvious to everyone around them. He wooed her and brought her enormous bundles of flowers, the kind that filled a whole room with the smell. One day, the day after she got her degree and official job as an EMT, he proposed to her."

The Autobots leaned forward as the Seer paused, green eyes closed as if remembering. "Well? What happened next?" Jazz asked eagerly, earning a sharp elbow from Prowl.

Narzenim sighed. "She said yes. She was young and thought he was the one – the one who would never leave her, who she could love to the end of time and back.

"Their wedding day was planned for a cloudless sunny day, and the invites were about to be sent out when she found that she was pregnant. The soldier-medic agreed to postpone the wedding so she could have the child. Now the woman had also been a soldier at one point in her life, and she knew that when duty called, a soldier couldn't help but obey, so she said nothing when he was deployed oversees for a year." She sighed again, green eyes sad. "About two months after he deployed, her first child, a son, was born."

Ratchet stared at Narzenim, jade-green eyes sharp. "I know this story." He told her, voice tight.

The Seer turned her head slowly to look at him. "But not the whole thing." She whispered. "The woman was happy beyond compare, and the child was the more beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She cared for him well, and named him Apollo.

"Now, a year later her husband came home to find little Apollo playing in the living room. They worked together to plan the wedding a second time, and this time chose a cool spring day. The wedding was lavish and beautiful though not too festive; the woman wore the most beautiful dress, practically glowing in the cool air. She walked down the aisle alone; she had no father, and her mother was dead.

"Apollo was sitting with a few of her friends on the side as the march played, and he watched her with those icy eyes of his. Now, the woman had reached the altar and waited for her husband-to-be to appear from behind the screen with the priest. The priest came out, followed by the best man, matron of honor, and so on. But the man didn't come out. She waited and waited, so the best man and matron of honor went to go look for him.

"They didn't find him, but they found a note saying that he had run off. He didn't want a son, the note said, and his time away made him realize that he had never wanted to be tied down or married to a woman; maybe a tumble or two was all he wanted, but not a lasting commitment."

"So the woman walked down from the altar and picked up her son, little Apollo, and with him in her arms, walked out of the chapel." Ratchet finished bitterly. Ironhide shook his head.

"What was the point in this?" he asked.

"There's more." Narzenim said quietly. "She took him home, tore off her dress and washed off her makeup, and played with him for a while. Playing with him for a while and realizing that at any moment she could snap his neck or harm him with a single hit – a little tap to her, really. So she took him to the orphanage nearby and with a heavy heart, left him there."

"What happened to Apollo and the woman?" Bee asked quietly.

"The woman was heartbroken – the man she loved with all her heart and more had left her at the altar, and she had just given her son up for adoption. The day after she gave him up for adoption, she tried to drink away her sorrows, but it just didn't work. No matter where she turned, she saw her son and love and no amount of liquor could drown that away.

"She searched the entire house and found everything the soldier-medic had given her; every bit of jewelry was pried apart and melted down. She was a metalworker before, and her smithy was in the back 

yard. She took the metal – gold, silver, copper, and brass, everything he had given her – into the smithy and mixed it all together, melting it into a beautiful chalice. This, she encrusted with the jewels – diamonds, rubies, and emerald, all that had been in the jewelry he had given her. When it was done, she filled it with the strongest vodka she could find and made a solemn oath to herself to never trust her heart to another. She drank the vodka down and broke the chalice. If she broke her oath and ended up having her heart broken, she would fix the chalice and drink from it again and make yet another oath.

"She still felt sad so she went back to her forge and lit a fire. The only thing she hadn't burned for the chalice was the engagement ring he had given her, but she couldn't bring herself to take it off and burn it. She needed something to show outwardly what she felt inwardly, so she stuck her hand into the fire and burned the ring off. Her ring finger still bears the mark of burning metal."

"What about Apollo?" Jazz asked, eyes wide. He had a brief flash of memory of a long-fingered, tan hand rubbing anxiously at a dark, scarred band around a ring finger…

"The woman couldn't bear to be parted from Apollo for very long, so after a year or two she adopted him and he's lived with her ever since, not knowing that she was his mother or his real name." Narzenim's sharp green eyes were on Prowl. "Shall I tell you what others know him as?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "Prowl?" Bee asked, eyes flicking from the stunned man to Narzenim.

"Why Apollo? Why not something else?" they whirled around to find Barricade leaning against the door to the cell, red eyes curious. "Something more fitting to our… strange abilities?"

Narzenim shrugged as Orion and Ironhide leapt to their feet. "What's it to _you_, Decepticon?" Ironhide snarled. 

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Narzenim replied, ignoring Ironhide and Orion who tried to shush her. "From my understanding, Apollo was the Greek god of many things and I guess she felt it fit him."

"How long have you been there?" Jazz growled and Barricade gave a cool shrug.

"Since she started the story. I could hear Lord Megatron's displeasure all the way over here so I figured there was no sense in fueling the fire." He tilted his head to the side and nodded. "I'm to take you to the Throne Room now. Come, please."

* * *

**Ina's Monologue: **

**Today's topic: The Decepticon Army, Conjures and Barricade**

**The Decepticon Army: As Narzenim mentioned before, there are fourteen Decepticons; with fourteen, how can the Decepticons have an army? Well, though there are fourteen Decepticons, the Decepticon Army is quite a force to be reckoned with. True, the Decepticons have lost two of their number to Whin in the battle in the cell, but they have bred themselvesa deadly army. Conjures serve mostly as servants and guards, as they're known to be none too bright. They can be used as shock troops as well, but most of the Decepticons' military strength lies in the guncrews - the humans they have commandeered from their "natural habitat". Some of the human guncrews are there willingly; others are forced into service by way of draconic magic on Megatron's part. The main purpose of a guncrew is to ride on the backs of the dragons and shoot, basically. The size of the guncrews vary from dragon and is based on size; Blackout would have less humans on his guncrew than Bonecrusher would. Other humans are used as medics and engineers; yet more are locked in rooms to forge and create Conjure bodies. Another defining force behind the Decepticon Army are the ferals they manage to catch and "tame". Such concepts (the forced bondage the of the humans, the ferals, and a little more of the guncrews) will be explained later when they begin to play a part in the story.**

**Conjures: These are creatures made special by Decepticon engineers and the laborers forced to make them. They resemble praying mantises with pits for eyes and two mouths, one above adn another below the eye-pits. They do vaguely resemble centaurs of Greek mythology, as their wheeled legs are built to resemble horse legs. Their upper arms are long, and tipped with single-jointed clawed hands. The basic structure of a Conjure is made from metal-covered bones and rods. The forearms are made using either metal rods or horse bones from the forelegs. The wheeled legs are usually made of horse bones as well, covered in metal and supported with yet more rods. Horce or cow ribs are used to make the main body, and the neck is made of alligator spine covered in metal. A wooden cover is then made to go over it, and that in turn is covered in metal plates that serve as armor. The head is put on last, and made special by master metalworkers. Then a shaman bound to Megatron would bind a dead human soul to the body, thus giving it life and some semblance of sentience. Shards of broken glass covered in molten metal are used for their teeth. Conjures are usually used as servants and guards, thought to be rather dumb.They're extremely loyal and humble, though have tendencies to become depressed. They're good warriors and horrible trackers, though if they can see their prey, they are well enough chasing them down.**

**Barricade: Yes, Barricade seems very off when dealing with the Autobots and Narzenim. This is mostly because he, unlike many other Decepticons, has the ability to feel remorse. He wasn't exactly born into the war; he had lived a peaceful life with his family in Germany before he was kidnapped by the Decepticons. His familyandfriends werekilled and his house burned to the ground: thus he had nowhere to go but to those who had ruined his life. He is mates with the Decepticon known as Slash, but not much more is known of him. Also, he likes kids and he can see how young Narzenim really is: he doesn't want to cause mental damage to such a young being, as he remembers how hard it was for him to recover from seeing his family and friends murdered before his eyes.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, this is Ina speaking. Sorry it took so long; I'm behind on a lot of things now. I haven't updated _The Truth About Heaven_ in a long time, and it's killing me. :( Not to mention the program I usually use to write stories in decided to die on me, so I have to use another, but unfortunately, that one doesn't upload at all to fanfiction, and the only other one I have butchers it when it's uploaded.**

**Anyway, enough of my moaning. On with the story!**

**WARNING: Not much gore in here. In fact, I think it only mentions any gore in passing. However, Whin does ingest some...rather nasty stuff, so be warned.**

* * *

Outside the cell, a group of Conjures waited with Marui. They formed a loose circle around them and escorted them, with Barricade in the lead, in the direction they assumed was the Throne Room.

Before they left, Barricade offered Narzenim his arm with a bow. With a small smile, Narzenim accepted it and now walked beside him, talking with the Decepticon as the rest of the Autobots remained silent. Ironhide was rumbling in displeasure, hands clenching and unclenching; he was obviously tempted to try and get into a fight with Barricade who ignored him for the most part.

"I hope you are all hungry." Barricade told them mildly, opening the great door to the Throne Room.

Despite it being in enemy territory, the Throne Room was enough to make them stop and gape. For one it was huge; the biggest of the dragons they had seen could easily have fit in it all together and walked around comfortably. On a raised dais on the other end of the room, a magnificent throne of frosty metal sat; beneath it was a long banquet table behind a smaller table with seven seats. Conjures wheeled around, placing plates, goblets, utensils, and napkins at each chair before disappearing into a side door.

Barricade waved a Conjure over as he led the Autobots and Narzenim to the magnificent throne. "Where is Slash?" he asked it quietly.

"Apologies, Master Barricade, but this humble Conjure does not know." It said in its strange snarling voice. Barricade grunted but waved it off to fulfill its duties. He stopped before the throne and released Narzenim's arm in favor of bowing to the man on the throne.

The man was handsome in a cold way; long silvery hair glittered on his head, but it was far from making him appear old in any way; he looked younger if not as young as Orion himself was. Ruby eyes glittered above pale skin, and like Whin, he had slit pupils. He was tall, with a slender, lithe build; his hair fell to his waist when braided and on his bangs were small white beads with glittering ruby spots. Bones in the shape of beads (or was it the other way around) hung from his hair and clicked as he stood; yet more bones glittered coldly on the necklace around his neck that formed an ivory collar around his neck.

"Lord Megatron." Barricade murmured respectfully and the red eyes flashed to the Decepticon, then to Narzenim and the other Autobots.

Narzenim inclined her head to him as he approached, suddenly seeming much older than she really was. Megatron smiled, all charisma, though his eyes glittered with a different light. "Great Seer, how kind of you to grace our halls." He said, giving a small bow. "And it is wonderful to see you, Brother, here."

Orion looked startled. "I don't know you."

Megatron laughed, a deep sound that didn't seem to match him. "We are all children of the Great Lords, are we not?" The Autobots looked confused while Narzenim's cold green eyes bored into Megatron's back. Megatron grinned and chuckled at their confused looks. "Surely you knew? After all, it came naturally to us. Didn't it, Slash?"

They turned to look at the newcomer and froze. Whin grinned back, eyes blood-red – like Barricade and Megatron's. "Yes, it did indeed." Her hair was braided with a multitude of beads – all made of bone – woven into them.

"Well, why don't we start eating?" Megatron asked companionably, clapping his hands. "I'm sure you're all famished after the long journey you've had."  
Whin smiled. "I know I would be." she said, motioning them to their seats before seating herself beside Barricade across from them. "Lord Megatron, if I may ask, where is my sister?"

"On her way, my dear." Megatron purred, and Prowl wondered if he was the only one that caught the disgusted look in the woman's eyes. "Don't fret; you'll see her soon enough."

Whin tilted her head to the side and nodded. Food began to trickle out of the kitchen; Conjures placed plates of food in front of the Autobots, Prowl, and Narzenim, in addition to an empty spot. They also served the Decepticons and Whin before disappearing into the kitchen. Whin ignored the distrustful stares she earned as she stared out the door.

The door burst open and shouts were heard, both in the strange, guttural language Barricade and Whin had been talking in earlier, and the rough voices of the Conjures. Then there was a high keening sound and a Conjure - half dismantled - flew into the room where it writhed in obvious pain. Megatron, Barricade, and Whin were instantly on their feet, alarmed.

A tan and cream-colored form flew into the room, landing hard on her side and rolling to her feet, arms bound behind her back. Blood dripped from a corner of her mouth, and her left cheekbone was bruised. Various other bruises and scrapes were apparent through the tight-fitting, revealing clothes she wore. She leapt nimbly on a Conjure's back and kicked out at its head, sending the tear-dropped bone-and-metal thing skittering away.

She cried out as a heavy staff knocked her off the reeling Conjure's back and tumbling to the ground. There was a snap, and she broke the restraints holding her bound arms together; she snatched a pair of blades from the wall and slashed at the Conjures who raced over, supposedly to subdue her.

"What is this?" Megatron roared as a Conjure charged at her, only to meet its demise at the blades in her hands. "Stand down!" She didn't move, blades poised and red-orange eyes flashing from one to the other. The Conjures backed off, looking alarmed and even a little scared. Megatron walked up to the woman who slowly stood up out of her crouch. "I apologize, Lady Windtreader." he said as she turned to look at him, eyes still a solid red-orange. "I beg you to share a meal with us as friends."

Whin - the real Whin - scowled and without looking threw her two blades at the Conjures, ignoring their keening cries as it impaled them through their upper torsos. "Apologies mean nothing to broken ribs." she said in a low voice. She inclined her head. "Nevertheless, we accept your apology and the generous offer of a meal as friends."

She looked over at her look-alike and walked over, stopping when they were a foot apart. "Hey. Long time no see." the other said with a small smile. Whin nodded slowly, clasping her hand at the elbow warmly.

"Long has it been since we've seen you, sister." she replied as she sat carefully between Narzenim and Jazz. The latter noticed the dark band of scars around her left ring finger and stared openly. Whin stiffened as a Conjure came up behind her to pour a dark red liquid into her goblet. She gave a pained look at Megatron. "We're sorry, but we must decline; we have a different diet based on our particular needs." her hands were shaking and Narzenim put a small hand on the scarred, bloody arm next to her.

Megatron gave her a peculiar look. "We have never seen a Dragon - a wounded Dragon - refuse a drink of blood." he said mildly, lifting his own goblet and taking a sip. "Surely you are enough of a warrior to know the limitations of your own body?"

Whin scowled at him and drank the blood, holding back a shiver as she did so. The Autobots gave her disgusted looks and didn't touch their plates. At Narzenim's glare, however, they forced themselves to eat a little more.

"We forgot that you are not used to this type of diet." the Whin look-alike said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "It is strange for us to conceive the idea of cooked meat."

Whin gave a low rumble. "We don't put it past you; it is not an idea that we feel others would readily follow."

Barricade gave a thin smile. "That is true. It is not an idea that we would have thought of. For that, we apologize; Slash and I were supposed to plan this dinner, and we have failed."

Whin gave a thin smile in return. "We do not hold you accountable."

* * *

The rest of the dinner was held in silence, and when it was over, a squadron of Conjures rolled in, armed and wary of approaching Whin who was in a slightly better mood. She had an identical twin, who was a Decepticon; that was why they had thought Slash (her twin) was Whin.

Megatron gave them a particularly icy smile when the Conjures rolled in. "Why don't we go to the arena, now?"

Whin stood, bristling as the Conjures approached. Megatron waved them off as the rest of the Decepticons (according to Narzenim) appeared. Blackout was the tall, skinny man who looked like he stepped out of a book about the Aztecs. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp were identical triplets, told apart by their hair; Starscream had red and dark gray hair, Thundercracker indigo and black, and Skywarp violet and black. Brawl was the man who was as massive as Ironhide, looking like a six-foot Paul Bunyan. Bonecrusher was even larger, nearly seven feet tall with scraggly bronze hair and jagged scars roping around his neck, face, and arms. Waspinator was the skinniest of all of them, pale and lanky. Frenzy and Rumble were the twin brothers they had seen earlier, pale with dark mops of hair on their head. Scorponok looked like he had Arabian ancestry, with reddish hair and tan-gold skin. Soundwave was a tall pale man, with soft violet hair and a blank, empty face.

The Conjures acted as guards and escorts, and in Whin's case, targets for her wrath. They had to resort holding a blade to her brother's throat to get her to comply, and even then they weren't in total control of her Slash and Barricade were forever hiding smiles, and judging by the growling snarls coming from deep in her chest, Whin was swearing up a storm.

They came to an arena with a deep sand pit at the bottom; it was nearly sixty feet deep before the smooth wall touched the sand. It looked like a coliseum, with a cage of thick, heavy bars made of what appeared to be steel. Megatron motioned and Soundwave opened a locked gate near the ice-like throne, and after pulling off the thick metal gauntlets on her forearms, carelessly pushed Whin into the arena.

"Whin!" Prowl yelped, watching her fall head over heels. She flipped and landed in a crouch, glaring angrily up at them. Then he yelled as he and Jazz, along with Narzenim, Orion, Ironhide, Bee, and Ratchet were pushed in as well. They would undoubtedly die.

Narzenim was an eagle, screeching as she wheeled around them. Then they stopped abruptly and slid down what looked like a transparent red slide to land in a mound of sand just beside Whin. After tumbling into the sand, the shot up in time to see the slide dematerialize, flowing like scarlet snakes into Whin's outstretched arms where it disappeared. She looked down at them with a semi-amused smirk as Narzenim circled lower to land on her shoulder.

Both watched as they hauled themselves to their feet, looking around frantically. "Where are we?" Orion demanded, glaring at Whin who shrugged, looking at Narzenim.

"In the Arena Pit." the hawk said, becoming a spotted leopard and balancing on her surrogate mother's shoulder and head. Whin looked up at the top of the arena to Blackout who stood at the edge of the drop. "They want you to fight." she added, looking down at Whin with her emerald eyes. "They want us all to fight."

Ironhide snarled. "You _know_ I'll fight." he clenched and unclenched his hands as the gate across the arena ground open and Blackout grinned down at them. A squadron of ten Conjures came out, though they were of a different design; they picked delicately across the sands with snowshoe-like feet. An extra pair of arms armed with spikes and razor-sharp claws glittered as they walked toward them.

"How are we supposed to fight _that_?" Ratchet demanded as Narzenim and Whin herded them toward the corner furthest from all the doors.

Whin stepped forward, hands clenched. She stretched mockingly, a wide grin across her face. She turned and looked at him with red-orange eyes. "Well, you just wait; we'll get you guys some weapons to fight with." she told them in that particular voice from before. She flashed them a quick grin that bared sharp ivory fangs. She beckoned at the sand beside her; it rose and flashed red before resting in her reaching hand, a long glass blade.

She swung it experimentally before with a savage roar, leapt at the Conjures. The first was too preoccupied with stepping delicately to see the nearly-invisible blade slice deep into its chest; it fell with a grinding wail, taking down the Conjure beside it. Its flailing blades made short work of the second Conjure. Whin crouched beneath the powerful swing of the third Conjure and ran it through with her blade. She cried out in pain as an energy weapon grazed her arm and with a quick slice, took the arm that held the weapon; she kicked it toward the group behind her as she took out the fifth Conjure. The sixth Conjure was slightly smarter; it stomped hard on the glass blade, shattering it.

Whin grinned. Her hands glittered red and she slammed hard on its stomach, sending it flying back into two other Conjures, taking them out with its flailing claws and spikes, and its massive weight. She leapt onto the back of the ninth Conjure, ripping off a clawed arm and then its upper torso before leaping at the last of the creatures, slicing at it with the improvised weapon. When the last fell, she turned to grin crazily at the group behind her.

She reached down and picked up the weapons in the limp grasps of the Conjures, throwing them toward the group over her shoulder. "Good enough for ya?" she asked, ruby eyes twinkling.

Ironhide hefted the weapon. "How do these work?"

"Just point and pull the trigger." she replied with a smirk. "Now heads up; we have a tougher battle to face." she jerked her head upwards toward Blackout who was changing before their eyes.

His skin became pebbled and thick in bright, poisonous colors; his belly was a sickly green color while his back was brown. His brows were orange, with the undersides of his wings being brilliant scarlet and the tops of his strange wings sapphire. He stood on his legs, tail balancing him, spreading his wings wide; he had no forelegs like the other Dragons they had seen, though he stood nearly eight feet tall at the shoulder. He leapt into the air with a ringing cry that sent shivers up and down their spines. **"Come, Ranthanoss! Let us fight!"**

Then, to their surprise (and horror), Whin's own from began to twist and writhe. She grew larger and larger as her skin turned red and gray-silver on her stomach. Her scales became armored, and before their very eyes, she became the red creature they had seen before. With a thunderous roar, she leapt aside as Blackout dove at her. With a powerful paw, she slammed him into the wall as foot soldiers marched out of the gate, weapons leveled at the stunned group.

Narzenim roared and becoming a spotted cheetah, raced across the sands toward them. At the last minute, she became a saber-toothed tiger and landed in the fray, fangs and claws flashing. Whin turned her head and watched carefully, ignoring the wailing Blackout pinned beneath her claws. She roared something and picked up the writhing Dragon; Narzenim leapt aside as he was catapulted into the squadron.

The colorful Dragon screamed as he landed with a dull crunch, serpentine tail lashing everywhere, causing pandemonium in the squadron's ranks as they tried to get out of the way of the tree-trunk-sized tail.

Whin turned and snarled at them as Narzenim loped back. **"You're all idiots."** she growled in a deeper than usual voice. **"Just because I am a Dragon doesn't mean I can always protect you. You have to learn to fight on your own."**

* * *

The darkness pulled at the Pit, blurring the dull red mound behind them. They could only tell it was alive by the heat it generated, the low rumble in its chest, and the movement of its sides as it breathed.

"Do y' think it's true?" Jazz asked his partner quietly, pulling the blanket close; it was cold in the Pit, and the warmth of Whin's side and the blanket were the only things that kept it at bay. Not to mention the warmth of having Jazz sitting so close to him.

"Hmm?" Prowl asked, dazed and tired. They had such a strange day. It was eerie to see two women who looked almost exactly alike fight with swords and spears. Whin, of course, wielded the spear-like weapon, and Slash fought with the swords. Then have said women transform into massive creatures (Whin red, Slash dull gold) and with one taking to the air (Slash), fight fiercely.

"About your real mother." Jazz said, turning his head to look at the other man. "Do you think it's Whin?"

Prowl sighed, leaning his head on Jazz's. "I don't know what to think anymore. I don't even know what's going on here."

Jazz turned his head in Orion's general direction. "Hey, Boss-Man? Can I explain?"

Whin's breathing hitched and she rumbled, shaking her head, eyes squeezed shut. Narzenim, a snow leopard on her back, leapt off the edge and ran to her head where she spoke quietly with her, stroking the scaled nose. Whin gave another low rumble, almost like a moan and turned her head away from them. Then followed the unmistakable sound of retching and the emptying of someone's stomach contents, only they could feel her heaving behind them.

"What's wrong with her?" Ratchet asked, getting to his feet. Everyone was awake now, and looking worriedly at Whin who was giving low rumbles, head still turned awkwardly.

Narzenim looked up from her place near the Dragon's shoulder. "They're not used to drinking blood." she said simply. "It throws their entire system out of whack. I'm surprised they lasted this long, actually."

Whin gave a low rumble, turning her head to reveal blood-red eyes. **"Anyone get the Mark of the thing that hit us?"** she groaned in a deeper-than-the-one-she-used-before voice.

Narzenim patted her shoulder and part of her exposed neck. "Yeah. Dragon Spyglass."

She snarled. **"I'm gonna _kill_ that bastard."** then she gave a low moan and turning her head, retched again.

There was a loud clanking from above, and in the flickering light of the torches above, they saw Slash poke her slender head over the edge. Seeing Whin retching, she leapt gracefully off the edge, circling lower on near-silent wings.

Even if it was in the dark, Prowl gasped at his first sight of her. Well, first sight of her when she (apparently) wasn't trying to kill them or Whin, and without having others try to kill him. Her wings were bat-like with a tuft of soft feathers near the leading edge, blending into smooth bronze-gold membrane. She was serpentine, and much, much smaller than Whin; perhaps two feet taller than Prowl himself at her slender shoulder. She looked sweeter than Whin who only looked fierce; a cute pony to a lion with blood-stained teeth.

The moment she landed, she was "human" once more, ignoring the threatening growls of Ironhide and Jazz; their weapons had died out a while ago, and after seeing her hold her own against Whin who had single-handedly flipped Barricade on his back - while he was in Dragon form and she was in "human" - they were wary of approaching her. She stood with cat-like grace and walked over to the massive maroon head, kneeling in front of her deep chest, putting her ear to the ashy gray plate armor there.

"What the hell did they do to you?" she growled, clutching her stomach as Whin retched again. "This isn't only from drinking blood." she looked at Narzenim who was crouched beside her. "Well? Any ideas?"

The girl's reply was in that strange, guttural language, and when she was done, Slash rocked back on her heels, surprised. Then she switched to English. "There's a blade stuck in her side; I need someone's claws to get it out."

Slash got over her surprise and looked at Narzenim in surprise. "Why can't you do it? Aren't you a Shapeshifter?"

Narzenim nodded, motioning for her to follow as she climbed up the scaled side. She motioned for Ratchet to follow too, and he did so warily. "I may be, but the blade is in pretty deep. This is mostly what is making her so sick; the blade is poisoned and the longer it's in, the more it'll make her sick. Ratchet and I will hold the wound open, and you pull the blade out."

Red eyes regarded them, glowing in the slight gloom. "The hole is tiny." she pointed out. "There is no way we can fit our claws in there."

Narzenim said nothing as her finger became a shimmering blade. It sliced through the armored hide and widened the hole. Whin's side twitched and she rumbled, lifting her head to look at them, eyes unfocused. Hands human once more, she and Ratchet pulled the skin apart, revealing the dark hole and the pale glimmer of a blade deep in the bloody abyss.

Slash sighed and reached for the blade, own claws extended. As she grasped it delicately, Whin gave a low rumble, shoulder twitching. Slash yanked it out and flung it into the wall, hand bloody. "Is that it?"

Narzenim nodded. "She should be fine soon. You don't by chance have any water, do you?"

Slash tilted her head to the side. "We'll come back later with Barricade to bring you some." she promised. "Lord Megatron gave no orders for anything sent to you, so we'll have to sneak them in for you." there was a particular way she said it that had the wary Autobots staring hard at her. Narzenim thanked her and with a nod, she leapt into the air as a Dragon, flying out through the gate which closed tightly behind her.

* * *

Later, Prowl would have to wonder how he managed to fall asleep after such excitement, but he didn't know and it really didn't matter. He just knew that he was gently shook awake by a small hand on his shoulder. When he opened his mouth to speak, a hand closed over his mouth, startling him; he looked up in the light of a floating, glowing sphere that gave off a soft pale-blue light and saw the bright green eyes of Narzenim staring down at him.

She held her finger to her lips before taking her other hand off Prowl's mouth. "Get dressed." she told him in a soft whisper, tossing a bundle of clothes at him. When he didn't move, a scowl crossed her face. "Hurry." she snapped, still whispering, and surprised, he leapt to his feet. He had never seen Narzenim really angry, but she looked pretty scary when she was irritated, as she was now.

His movement jostled Jazz awake, and Narzenim clapped a hand on his mouth as he yelped, falling to the side. She repeated the motions she had with Prowl, shoving another bundle of clothes into his hands as she tossed the blanket to Slash who caught it silently and began to fold it. She put a finger to her lips when they moved to shout and motioned for them to change. A soft scuffle on the side alerted them, and they turned to find Narzenim, a gorilla, holding her thick black hand over Ironhide's mouth as he struggled either to shout out or to leap at Slash.

"Be quiet." Narzenim snarled quietly, and he stilled slowly. "She's helping us." when he stilled, she climbed off him and nudged awake Bee and Orion. Bee took it in stride while Narzenim had to restrain Orion once more. "Go change." she ordered them in a curt whisper. They stared at the heavy clothes in their arms; it was cold weather wear.

"What's this for?" Prowl asked in a low whisper.

Slash was the one who answered; Narzenim was at Whin's side trying to wake the slumbering Dragon. "It's snowing hard outside." she told them simply. "Whin would never forgive us if we allowed you to get hypothermia."

Prowl sighed and backed away. There were only three females in the Pit with him and the others, one of which was unconscious. He could live, and it wasn't like the other two were paying any attention anyway. He pulled off his shirt, wincing as a spot on his spine below his shoulders stung as if it was burned.

A callused hand made him jump, and he turned to find Ironhide staring at him, shock evident on his rough face. "Ah don' b'lieve it. Th' girl's right."

"I usually am." Narzenim told him loftily, walking over. "Now what has your panties in a wad?" she turned Prowl roughly and swore when she saw the two tattoo-like Marks on his back. "Slash, get Whin up; we need to get out of here ASAP." she called over her shoulder. "Be careful when you pull on your clothes." she told Prowl seriously. "It'll be sensitive for a few days before feeling normal."

"If I wake her up as fast as I can, then she…" Slash trailed off, looking worried. Narzenim shook her head.

"No time, Slash. I can handle her." the woman looked dubious. "Look. Either you believe that I'm the Seer, or you don't. Pick one now."

The other sighed, kneeling beside Whin's head. Her hands glittered with silver-blue light and when she touched the Dragon on her dark forehead, she leapt to her feet, snarling. Then Narzenim was at her head, small hands on either side of her nose. "We need you, Ran. I know you can hear me." glittering ruby eyes flashed and a low growl threaded its way out of the ivory fangs just below the girl's slender hands. "Stop it." she told him sharply. "I know Whin's not up yet, but we need you so we can escape. Prowl's Mark is Activating, and we need to get out of here fast." she let go as Whin tossed her head and sat on her hindquarters.

Slash was staring at Whin. "I've never gotten Volly to do that before." she told the girl in awe. "He never listens to me."

Narzenim peered at her as she pulled on her thick jacket and quickly folded the blankets on the cooling sand. "He listens to you more than you realize." she said at last. "He's just as caring and compassionate as Ranthanoss, you know. When he doesn't listen to you, it's because he knows you're doing something stupid. He tries to protect you, you know." she tied the bundles of blankets together with strips from the tunic she had been wearing earlier, tossing a bundle to Slash who caught it. "Now we need to leave."

Slash nodded. "'Cade's taking care of the guards." she said, pulling open a large metal gate. "He'll meet you at the end of the hall. Ran and I have to take another exit; he'll never fit through this door."

"Why can't she just change back?" Ratchet asked, confused.

Slash shook her head. "It's not that simple; Ranthanoss is in control now - her Dragon side, if you will. He doesn't have the power to make the shift."

**"Whin won't wake up until a few hours from now."** the Dragon said in a deep baritone voice that was definitely masculine; not the deep voice - that was distinctly female - that Whin had used earlier. Red eyes glittered, staring hard at them. **"Ensallidus cannot keep waiting in the hallway. You should hurry."**

"He's right." Narzenim said, motioning for them to follow. Orion, Ironhide, and Jazz faltered. "What now?"

"I don't trust them." Orion told her, looking down his nose at her. His men had told him that he could be very intimidating when he wanted to be, and he wanted to convey that to Narzenim.

She reacted much differently. Her emerald eyes snapped at him, and he found himself taking a step back. "I know that you thought the Seer to be male. I understand that. I know that you thought the Seer to be older. I understand that too. More than you know. What I don't understand is why you don't trust the Seer regardless of age and gender." she motioned to the still form of Slash standing nearby. "I met her at dinner tonight. We have known each other for four hours if you include the Pit fight. _She_ trusts me unconditionally, just as Barricade does. Why can't you?"

"How do you know we're not being led into a trap?" Jazz asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I trust _you_, but I don't trust them."

Slash looked away and walked over to Ranthanoss who growled. They disappeared through a different door, and the Autobots were left alone. "If you don't trust them now, how will you react later?" Narzenim asked dryly. "Now come on. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you'd best follow." with that, she led the way down the hall. Bee, Prowl, Jazz, and Ratchet followed her; Ironhide and Orion traded weary glances before following behind them at a light trot.

Barricade, true to Slash's word, was waiting for them at the end of the hallway. "Quickly. We don't have much time." he told them gruffly, leading the way down the hall at a quick trot. "Slash and Ranthanoss are at the gates waiting for us." he told them as they crossed a snowy courtyard. "As I'm sure you can imagine, Seer, Ranthanoss isn't very happy about this."

The Autobots blinked in the sudden brightness of the snow, and were thankful (to some extent) to find that it was still dark. Ranthanoss and Slash waited for them at the enormous gates to the fortress, the former looking very uncomfortable in the heavy leather harness he/she wore. Especially the bridle-like contraption around his/her head.

"It was the best we could find." Slash explained as she wrapped white rags around the metal buckles so they wouldn't shine in the bright moonlight or shock Ran's scales with the cold. "Get on." Ranthanoss bent his/her legs and they clambered on carefully as Barricade (to their surprise) helped them to strap in. Narzenim sat on Ran's neck, just in front of his/her shoulders, holding the reins. Prowl and Jazz were on either shoulder with Orion, Ratchet, and Ironhide on his/her back.  
Ranthanoss stood and shook himself, ignoring the yelps of his passengers.

**"It's _cold_."** he rumbled.

Barricade laughed. "Come on, Fire Dragon. Surely you can survive a little cold?" Ranthanoss snorted though he sounded amused. "Now you guys head North. When you reach the river, follow the water East. A few miles down there will be a place where you can safely cross. Cross and head North again."

"Don't stop no matter what." Slash told them. "Stop only when you reach the border of the ice. I'll cover your tracks, but eventually Lord Megatron will notice you're gone. I know you guys can make it if you leave now."

Ranthanoss turned his great head and looked at both of them, grumbling in that strange language they had. Both looked surprise but at his growl nodded.

"Thanks. For everything." Narzenim told them softly. "We will see each other again." she smiled. "It will be very interesting times, to say the least." then she kicked her heels into Ranthanoss' shoulders. "Let's go, big guy. We need to get out of here ASAP." Ranthanoss lurched back then leapt forward, kicking up snow as he loped away.

* * *

**Ina's Monologue: **

**Today's Topic: Slash, slash, Ranthanoss, Ensallidus, "Volly," Whin's "strange" diet, and the Decepticon Fortress**

**Slash (as in Whin's twin): As mentioned above and before, Slash is Whin's twin. Like Whin (whose name is really Windtreader), she changed her name. Well, _Whin_ shortened hers - it was hard for young Orion to say "Windtreader" so he, Prowl, and Narzenim, when they were all young, called her Whinny and the name stuck. Slash, on the other hand, changed her name entirely. She only calls herself "Slash" now, but her original name was Windstreaker, or Streak for short. **

**Slash (as in the pairing): Yes, there will be slash later on. Maybe. Well, we're not entirely sure. We may put some slash in here, but we're not entirely sure, as mentioned before. If we _do_ decide to put slash, the pairings are already chosen and won't be revealed until _later_.**

**Ranthanoss: Well, we get to hear Ranthanoss in this chapter. Yay. It must be really awkward having a _male_ voice in your head, especally if you're a female... well, anyway, Ranthanoss is really nice despite what he is, as Narzenim hints. He's kind and compassionate despite being a Dragon. He _really_ doesn't like the cold, as he is a fire Dragon. Hence his/Whin's red coloring. Whin, as a result, usually shies away from cold water. Hot or warm water Ran (what Whin calls him when she doesn't feel like saying his entire name) can live with, but he hates it when he (or Whin) is shoved into cold water. He's like a cat that way, only has preferences in the temperature of the water he's in.**

**Ensallidus: All Dragons have two sides, as I believe I've mentioned before (In chapter 2, I think). They are generally hard-headed and stubborn, and don't like being ordered around. Ensallidus is mentioned in passing, and I don't think she'll get a lot of recognition in this story. I may be wrong; you never know. Anyway, Ensallidus is female, and she's Barricade's Dragon side. Dragon sides, by the way, are always of the opposite gender; Whin is female, Ran is male. Barricade is male, Ensallidus is female. Slash is female, and her Dragon side, who she calls "Volly," is male.**

**"Volly": Slash's Dragon side. His real name is Voltimand, after one of the couriers in Shakespeare's play _Hamlet_. Slash isn't entirely sure why he chose that name, but instead of calling him Voltimand (she claims that it's an extremely boring name), she calls him "Volly" instead. (Dragon-sides generally choose their own name, and so far, it appears that the popular trend is to make up their own names, as seen with Ranthanoss and Ensallidus.)**

**Whin's "strange" diet: As Megatron was saying, it is popular for wounded Dragons to drink blood. Slash and Barricade also mentioned that Whin's diet was a strange one. To Decepticon belief, it _is_ rather unusual, for Whin eats _cooked_ meat instead of having it raw. Usually. When she's out hunting in her Dragon form, she usually eats her meat raw, but when she is "human," she eats it cooked. She shies away from drinking blood, and instead contents herself with eating her meat cooked rare. Her exact diet isn't known (it will be mentioned later), but it threw Slash and Barricade off when they were preparing their feast. Dragons are carnivorous, so Whin doesn't exactly eat her vegetables, but compared to many other Dragons, she is the most civil. I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but Whin hardly eats. "_She looked up from the prodding of her pasta..." (_chapter 2). She _may_ have eaten in another chapter, but for the most part, she doesn't eat in front of anyone, not wanting to "gross anyone out."**

**Decepticon Fortress: The Decepticons don't exactly have a base; they have a Fortress. It's an enormous castle somewhere; no one is entirely sure. It is forever an icy winterland, something Ranthanoss hates; it's one reason Whin would never dream of joining the Decepticons. At the edge of their territory, the snow cuts off abruptly. When I say 'abruptly,' I _mean_ abruptly; it is almost as if there is a glass wall between the snow-covered territory and the thick forests beyond. Not much more is known about the Fortress.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey, Ina here. Sorry for not updating earlier! Gah!**

**Nobody reads this, anyway, though. :(**

* * *

Outside the cell, a group of Conjures waited with Marui. They formed a loose circle around them and escorted them, with Barricade in the lead, in the direction they assumed was the Throne Room.

Before they left, Barricade offered Narzenim his arm with a bow. With a small smile, Narzenim accepted it and now walked beside him, talking with the Decepticon as the rest of the Autobots remained silent. Ironhide was rumbling in displeasure, hands clenching and unclenching; he was obviously tempted to try and get into a fight with Barricade who ignored him for the most part.

"I hope you are all hungry." Barricade told them mildly, opening the great door to the Throne Room.

Despite it being in enemy territory, the Throne Room was enough to make them stop and gape. For one it was huge; the biggest of the dragons they had seen could easily have fit in it all together and walked around comfortably. On a raised dais on the other end of the room, a magnificent throne of frosty metal sat; beneath it was a long banquet table behind a smaller table with seven seats. Conjures wheeled around, placing plates, goblets, utensils, and napkins at each chair before disappearing into a side door.

Barricade waved a Conjure over as he led the Autobots and Narzenim to the magnificent throne. "Where is Slash?" he asked it quietly.

"Apologies, Master Barricade, but this humble Conjure does not know." It said in its strange snarling voice.

Barricade grunted but waved it off to fulfill its duties. He stopped before the throne and released Narzenim's arm in favor of bowing to the man on the throne.

The man was handsome in a cold way; long silvery hair glittered on his head, but it was far from making him appear old in any way; he looked younger if not as young as Orion himself was. Ruby eyes glittered above pale skin, and like Whin, he had slit pupils. He was tall, with a slender, lithe build; his hair fell to his waist when braided and on his bangs were small white beads with glittering ruby spots. Bones in the shape of beads (or was it the other way around) hung from his hair and clicked as he stood; yet more bones glittered coldly on the necklace around his neck that formed an ivory collar around his neck.

"Lord Megatron." Barricade murmured respectfully and the red eyes flashed to the Decepticon, then to Narzenim and the other Autobots.

Narzenim inclined her head to him as he approached, suddenly seeming much older than she really was. Megatron smiled, all charisma, though his eyes glittered with a different light. "Great Seer, how kind of you to grace our halls." He said, giving a small bow. "And it is wonderful to see you, Brother, here."

Orion looked startled. "I don't know you."

Megatron laughed, a deep sound that didn't seem to match him. "We are all children of the Great Lords, are we not?" The Autobots looked confused while Narzenim's cold green eyes bored into Megatron's back. Megatron grinned and chuckled at their confused looks. "Surely you knew? After all, it came naturally to us. Didn't it, Slash?"

They turned to look at the newcomer and froze. Whin grinned back, eyes blood-red – like Barricade and Megatron's. "Yes, it did indeed." Her hair was braided with a multitude of beads – all made of bone – woven into them.

"Well, why don't we start eating?" Megatron asked companionably, clapping his hands. "I'm sure you're all famished after the long journey you've had."

Whin smiled. "I know _I_ would be." she said, motioning them to their seats before seating herself beside Barricade across from them. "Lord Megatron, if I may ask, where is my sister?"

"On her way, my dear." Megatron purred, and Prowl wondered if he was the only one that caught the disgusted look in the woman's eyes. "Don't fret; you'll see her soon enough."

Whin tilted her head to the side and nodded. Food began to trickle out of the kitchen; Conjures placed plates of food in front of the Autobots, Prowl, and Narzenim, in addition to an empty spot. They also served the Decepticons and Whin before disappearing into the kitchen. Whin ignored the distrustful stares she earned as she stared out the door.

The door burst open and shouts were heard, both in the strange, guttural language Barricade and Whin had been talking in earlier, and the rough voices of the Conjures. Then there was a high keening sound and a Conjure - half dismantled - flew into the room where it writhed in obvious pain. Megatron, Barricade, and Whin were instantly on their feet, alarmed.

A tan and cream-colored form flew into the room, landing hard on her side and rolling to her feet, arms bound behind her back. Blood dripped from a corner of her mouth, and her left cheekbone was bruised. Various other bruises and scrapes were apparent through the tight-fitting, revealing clothes she wore. She leapt nimbly on a Conjure's back and kicked out at its head, sending the tear-dropped bone-and-metal thing skittering away.

She cried out as a heavy staff knocked her off the reeling Conjure's back and tumbling to the ground. There was a snap, and she broke the restraints holding her bound arms together; she snatched a pair of blades from the wall and slashed at the Conjures who raced over, supposedly to subdue her.

"What is this?" Megatron roared as a Conjure charged at her, only to meet its demise at the blades in her hands. "Stand down!" She didn't move, blades poised and red-orange eyes flashing from one to the other. The Conjures backed off, looking alarmed and even a little scared. Megatron walked up to the woman who slowly stood up out of her crouch. "I apologize, Lady Windtreader." he said as she turned to look at him, eyes still a solid red-orange. "I beg you to share a meal with us as friends."

Whin - the real Whin - scowled and without looking threw her two blades at the Conjures, ignoring their keening cries as it impaled them through their upper torsos. "Apologies mean nothing to broken ribs." she said in a low voice. She inclined her head. "Nevertheless, we accept your apology and the generous offer of a meal as friends."

She looked over at her look-alike and walked over, stopping when they were a foot apart. "Hey. Long time no see." the other said with a small smile. Whin nodded slowly, clasping her hand at the elbow warmly.

"Long has it been since we've seen you, sister." she replied as she sat carefully between Narzenim and Jazz. The latter noticed the dark band of scars around her left ring finger and stared openly. Whin stiffened as a Conjure came up behind her to pour a dark red liquid into her goblet. She gave a pained look at Megatron. "We're sorry, but we must decline; we have a different diet based on our particular needs." her hands were shaking and Narzenim put a small hand on the scarred, bloody arm next to her.

Megatron gave her a peculiar look. "We have never seen a Dragon - a _wounded_ Dragon - refuse a drink of blood." he said mildly, lifting his own goblet and taking a sip. "Surely you are enough of a warrior to know the limitations of your own body?"

Whin scowled at him and drank the blood, holding back a shiver as she did so. The Autobots gave her disgusted looks and didn't touch their plates. At Narzenim's glare, however, they forced themselves to eat a little more.

"We forgot that you are not used to this type of diet." the Whin look-alike said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "It is strange for us to conceive the idea of cooked meat."

Whin gave a low rumble. "We don't put it past you; it is not an idea that we feel others would readily follow."

Barricade gave a thin smile. "That is true. It is not an idea that we would have thought of. For that, we apologize; Slash and I were supposed to plan this dinner, and we have failed."

Whin gave a thin smile in return. "We do not hold you accountable."

The rest of the dinner was held in silence, and when it was over, a squadron of Conjures rolled in, armed and wary of approaching Whin who was in a slightly better mood. She had an identical twin, who was a Decepticon; that was why they had thought Slash (her twin) was Whin.

Megatron gave them a particularly icy smile when the Conjures rolled in. "Why don't we go to the arena, now?"

Whin stood, bristling as the Conjures approached. Megatron waved them off as the rest of the Decepticons (according to Narzenim) appeared. Blackout was the tall, skinny man who looked like he stepped out of a book about the Aztecs. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp were identical triplets, told apart by their hair; Starscream had red and dark gray hair, Thundercracker indigo and black, and Skywarp violet and black. Brawl was the man who was as massive as Ironhide, looking like a six-foot Paul Bunyan. Bonecrusher was even larger, nearly seven feet tall with scraggly bronze hair and jagged scars roping around his neck, face, and arms. Waspinator was the skinniest of all of them, pale and lanky. Frenzy and Rumble were the twin brothers they had seen earlier, pale with dark mops of hair on their head. Scorponok looked like he had Arabian ancestry, with reddish hair and tan-gold skin. Soundwave was a tall pale man, with soft violet hair and a blank, empty face.

The Conjures acted as guards and escorts, and in Whin's case, targets for her wrath. They had to resort holding a blade to her brother's throat to get her to comply, and even then they weren't in total control of her Slash and Barricade were forever hiding smiles, and judging by the growling snarls coming from deep in her chest, Whin was swearing up a storm.

They came to an arena with a deep sand pit at the bottom; it was nearly sixty feet deep before the smooth wall touched the sand. It looked like a coliseum, with a cage of thick, heavy bars made of what appeared to be steel. Megatron motioned and Soundwave opened a locked gate near the ice-like throne, and after pulling off the thick metal gauntlets on her forearms, carelessly pushed Whin into the arena.

"Whin!" Prowl yelped, watching her fall head over heels. She flipped and landed in a crouch, glaring angrily up at them. Then he yelled as he and Jazz, along with Narzenim, Orion, Ironhide, Bee, and Ratchet were pushed in as well. They would undoubtedly die.

Narzenim was an eagle, screeching as she wheeled around them. Then they stopped abruptly and slid down what looked like a transparent red slide to land in a mound of sand just beside Whin. After tumbling into the sand, the shot up in time to see the slide dematerialize, flowing like scarlet snakes into Whin's outstretched arms where it disappeared. She looked down at them with a semi-amused smirk as Narzenim circled lower to land on her shoulder.

Both watched as they hauled themselves to their feet, looking around frantically. "Where are we?" Orion demanded, glaring at Whin who shrugged, looking at Narzenim.

"In the Arena Pit." the hawk said, becoming a spotted leopard and balancing on her surrogate mother's shoulder and head. Whin looked up at the top of the arena to Blackout who stood at the edge of the drop. "They want you to fight." she added, looking down at Whin with her emerald eyes. "They want us all to fight."

Ironhide snarled. "You _know_ I'll fight." he clenched and unclenched his hands as the gate across the arena ground open and Blackout grinned down at them. A squadron of ten Conjures came out, though they were of a different design; they picked delicately across the sands with snowshoe-like feet. An extra pair of arms armed with spikes and razor-sharp claws glittered as they walked toward them.

"How are we supposed to fight _that_?" Ratchet demanded as Narzenim and Whin herded them toward the corner furthest from all the doors.

Whin stepped forward, hands clenched. She stretched mockingly, a wide grin across her face. She turned and looked at him with red-orange eyes. "Well, _you_ just wait; we'll get you guys some weapons to fight with." she told them in that particular voice from before. She flashed them a quick grin that bared sharp ivory fangs. She beckoned at the sand beside her; it rose and flashed red before resting in her reaching hand, a long glass blade.

She swung it experimentally before with a savage roar, leapt at the Conjures. The first was too preoccupied with stepping delicately to see the nearly-invisible blade slice deep into its chest; it fell with a grinding wail, taking down the Conjure beside it. Its flailing blades made short work of the second Conjure. Whin crouched beneath the powerful swing of the third Conjure and ran it through with her blade. She cried out in pain as an energy weapon grazed her arm and with a quick slice, took the arm that held the weapon; she kicked it toward the group behind her as she took out the fifth Conjure. The sixth Conjure was slightly smarter; it stomped hard on the glass blade, shattering it.

Whin grinned. Her hands glittered red and she slammed hard on its stomach, sending it flying back into two other Conjures, taking them out with its flailing claws and spikes, and its massive weight. She leapt onto the back of the ninth Conjure, ripping off a clawed arm and then its upper torso before leaping at the last of the creatures, slicing at it with the improvised weapon. When the last fell, she turned to grin crazily at the group behind her.

She reached down and picked up the weapons in the limp grasps of the Conjures, throwing them toward the group over her shoulder. "Good enough for ya?" she asked, ruby eyes twinkling.

Ironhide hefted the weapon. "How do these work?"

"Just point and pull the trigger." she replied with a smirk. "Now heads up; we have a tougher battle to face." she jerked her head upwards toward Blackout who was changing before their eyes.

His skin became pebbled and thick in bright, poisonous colors; his belly was a sickly green color while his back was brown. His brows were orange, with the undersides of his wings being brilliant scarlet and the tops of his strange wings sapphire. He stood on his legs, tail balancing him, spreading his wings wide; he had no forelegs like the other Dragons they had seen, though he stood nearly eight feet tall at the shoulder. He leapt into the air with a ringing cry that sent shivers up and down their spines. **"Come, Ranthanoss! Let us fight!"**

Then, to their surprise (and horror), Whin's own from began to twist and writhe. She grew larger and larger as her skin turned red and gray-silver on her stomach. Her scales became armored, and before their very eyes, she became the red creature they had seen before. With a thunderous roar, she leapt aside as Blackout dove at her. With a powerful paw, she slammed him into the wall as foot soldiers marched out of the gate, weapons leveled at the stunned group.

Narzenim roared and becoming a spotted cheetah, raced across the sands toward them. At the last minute, she became a saber-toothed tiger and landed in the fray, fangs and claws flashing. Whin turned her head and watched carefully, ignoring the wailing Blackout pinned beneath her claws. She roared something and picked up the writhing Dragon; Narzenim leapt aside as he was catapulted into the squadron.

The colorful Dragon screamed as he landed with a dull crunch, serpentine tail lashing everywhere, causing pandemonium in the squadron's ranks as they tried to get out of the way of the tree-trunk-sized tail.

Whin turned and snarled at them as Narzenim loped back. **"You're all idiots."** she growled in a deeper than usual voice. **"Just because I am a Dragon **_**doesn't mean I can always protect you.**_** You have to learn to fight on your own.**"

* * *

The darkness pulled at the Pit, blurring the dull red mound behind them. They could only tell it was alive by the heat it generated, the low rumble in its chest, and the movement of its sides as it breathed.

"Do y' think it's true?" Jazz asked his partner quietly, pulling the blanket close; it was cold in the Pit, and the warmth of Whin's side and the blanket were the only things that kept it at bay. Not to mention the warmth of having Jazz sitting so close to him.

"Hmm?" Prowl asked, dazed and tired. They had such a strange day. It was eerie to see two women who looked almost exactly alike fight with swords and spears. Whin, of course, wielded the spear-like weapon, and Slash fought with the swords. Then have said women transform into massive creatures (Whin red, Slash dull gold) and with one taking to the air (Slash), fight fiercely.

"About your real mother." Jazz said, turning his head to look at the other man. "Do you think it's Whin?"

Prowl sighed, leaning his head on Jazz's. "I don't know _what_ to think anymore. I don't even know what's going on here."

Jazz turned his head in Orion's general direction. "Hey, Boss-Man? Can I explain?"

Whin's breathing hitched and she rumbled, shaking her head, eyes squeezed shut. Narzenim, a snow leopard on her back, leapt off the edge and ran to her head where she spoke quietly with her, stroking the scaled nose. Whin gave another low rumble, almost like a moan and turned her head away from them. Then followed the unmistakable sound of retching and the emptying of someone's stomach contents, only they could feel her heaving behind them.

"What's wrong with her?" Ratchet asked, getting to his feet. Everyone was awake now, and looking worriedly at Whin who was giving low rumbles, head still turned awkwardly.

Narzenim looked up from her place near the Dragon's shoulder. "They're not used to drinking blood." she said simply. "It throws their entire system out of whack. I'm surprised they lasted this long, actually."

Whin gave a low rumble, turning her head to reveal blood-red eyes. **"Anyone get the Mark of the thing that hit us?"** she groaned in a deeper-than-the-one-she-used-before voice.

Narzenim patted her shoulder and part of her exposed neck. "Yeah. Dragon Spyglass."

She snarled. **"I'm gonna **_**kill**_** that bastard."** then she gave a low moan and turning her head, retched again.

There was a loud clanking from above, and in the flickering light of the torches above, they saw Slash poke her slender head over the edge. Seeing Whin retching, she leapt gracefully off the edge, circling lower on near-silent wings.

Even if it was in the dark, Prowl gasped at his first sight of her. Well, first sight of her when she (apparently) wasn't trying to kill them or Whin, and without having others try to kill him. Her wings were bat-like with a tuft of soft feathers near the leading edge, blending into smooth bronze-gold membrane. She was serpentine, and much, much smaller than Whin; perhaps two feet taller than Prowl himself at her slender shoulder. She looked sweeter than Whin who only looked fierce; a cute pony to a lion with blood-stained teeth.

The moment she landed, she was "human" once more, ignoring the threatening growls of Ironhide and Jazz; their weapons had died out a while ago, and after seeing her hold her own against Whin who had single-handedly flipped Barricade on his back - while he was in Dragon form and she was in "human" - they were wary of approaching her. She stood with cat-like grace and walked over to the massive maroon head, kneeling in front of her deep chest, putting her ear to the ashy gray plate armor there.

"What the hell did they do to you?" she growled, clutching her stomach as Whin retched again. "This isn't _only_ from drinking blood." she looked at Narzenim who was crouched beside her. "Well? Any ideas?"

The girl's reply was in that strange, guttural language, and when she was done, Slash rocked back on her heels, surprised. Then she switched to English. "There's a blade stuck in her side; I need someone's claws to get it out."

Slash got over her surprise and looked at Narzenim in surprise. "Why can't you do it? Aren't you a Shapeshifter?"

Narzenim nodded, motioning for her to follow as she climbed up the scaled side. She motioned for Ratchet to follow too, and he did so warily. "I may be, but the blade is in pretty deep. This is mostly what is making her so sick; the blade is poisoned and the longer it's in, the more it'll make her sick. Ratchet and I will hold the wound open, and you pull the blade out."

Red eyes regarded them, glowing in the slight gloom. "The hole is tiny." she pointed out. "There is no way we can fit our claws in there."

Narzenim said nothing as her finger became a shimmering blade. It sliced through the armored hide and widened the hole. Whin's side twitched and she rumbled, lifting her head to look at them, eyes unfocused. Hands human once more, she and Ratchet pulled the skin apart, revealing the dark hole and the pale glimmer of a blade deep in the bloody abyss.

Slash sighed and reached for the blade, own claws extended. As she grasped it delicately, Whin gave a low rumble, shoulder twitching. Slash yanked it out and flung it into the wall, hand bloody. "Is that it?"

Narzenim nodded. "She should be fine soon. You don't by chance have any water, do you?"

Slash tilted her head to the side. "We'll come back later with Barricade to bring you some." she promised. "Lord Megatron gave no orders for anything sent to you, so we'll have to sneak them in for you." there was a particular way she said it that had the wary Autobots staring hard at her. Narzenim thanked her and with a nod, she leapt into the air as a Dragon, flying out through the gate which closed tightly behind her.

* * *

Later, Prowl would have to wonder _how_ he managed to fall asleep after such excitement, but he didn't know and it really didn't matter. He just knew that he was gently shook awake by a small hand on his shoulder. When he opened his mouth to speak, a hand closed over his mouth, startling him; he looked up in the light of a floating, glowing sphere that gave off a soft pale-blue light and saw the bright green eyes of Narzenim staring down at him.

She held her finger to her lips before taking her other hand off Prowl's mouth. "Get dressed." she told him in a soft whisper, tossing a bundle of clothes at him. When he didn't move, a scowl crossed her face. "Hurry." she snapped, still whispering, and surprised, he leapt to his feet. He had never seen Narzenim really angry, but she looked pretty scary when she was irritated, as she was now.

His movement jostled Jazz awake, and Narzenim clapped a hand on his mouth as he yelped, falling to the side. She repeated the motions she had with Prowl, shoving another bundle of clothes into his hands as she tossed the blanket to Slash who caught it silently and began to fold it. She put a finger to her lips when they moved to shout and motioned for them to change. A soft scuffle on the side alerted them, and they turned to find Narzenim, a gorilla, holding her thick black hand over Ironhide's mouth as he struggled either to shout out or to leap at Slash.

"Be quiet." Narzenim snarled quietly, and he stilled slowly. "She's helping us." when he stilled, she climbed off him and nudged awake Bee and Orion. Bee took it in stride while Narzenim had to restrain Orion once more. "Go change." she ordered them in a curt whisper. They stared at the heavy clothes in their arms; it was cold weather wear.

"What's this for?" Prowl asked in a low whisper.

Slash was the one who answered; Narzenim was at Whin's side trying to wake the slumbering Dragon. "It's snowing hard outside." she told them simply. "Whin would never forgive us if we allowed you to get hypothermia."

Prowl sighed and backed away. There were only _three_ females in the Pit with him and the others, one of which was unconscious. He could live, and it wasn't like the other two were paying any attention anyway. He pulled off his shirt, wincing as a spot on his spine below his shoulders stung as if it was burned.

A callused hand made him jump, and he turned to find Ironhide staring at him, shock evident on his rough face. "Ah don' b'lieve it. Th' girl's right."

"I usually am." Narzenim told him loftily, walking over. "Now what has your panties in a wad?" she turned Prowl roughly and swore when she saw the two tattoo-like Marks on his back. "Slash, get Whin up; we need to get out of here ASAP." she called over her shoulder. "Be careful when you pull on your clothes." she told Prowl seriously. "It'll be sensitive for a few days before feeling normal."

"If I wake her up as fast as I can, then she…" Slash trailed off, looking worried. Narzenim shook her head.

"No time, Slash. I can handle her." the woman looked dubious. "Look. Either you believe that I'm the Seer, or you don't. Pick one now."

The other sighed, kneeling beside Whin's head. Her hands glittered with silver-blue light and when she touched the Dragon on her dark forehead, she leapt to her feet, snarling. Then Narzenim was at her head, small hands on either side of her nose. "We need you, Ran. I know you can hear me." glittering ruby eyes flashed and a low growl threaded its way out of the ivory fangs just below the girl's slender hands. "Stop it." she told him sharply. "I know Whin's not up yet, but we need you so we can escape. Prowl's Mark is Activating, and we need to get out of here _fast_." she let go as Whin tossed her head and sat on her hindquarters.

Slash was staring at Whin. "I've never gotten Volly to do that before." she told the girl in awe. "He _never_ listens to me."

Narzenim peered at her as she pulled on her thick jacket and quickly folded the blankets on the cooling sand. "He listens to you more than you realize." she said at last. "He's just as caring and compassionate as Ranthanoss, you know. When he doesn't listen to you, it's because he knows you're doing something stupid. He tries to protect you, you know." she tied the bundles of blankets together with strips from the tunic she had been wearing earlier, tossing a bundle to Slash who caught it. "Now we need to leave."

Slash nodded. "'Cade's taking care of the guards." she said, pulling open a large metal gate. "He'll meet you at the end of the hall. Ran and I have to take another exit; he'll never fit through this door."

"Why can't she just change back?" Ratchet asked, confused.

Slash shook her head. "It's not that simple; Ranthanoss is in control now - her Dragon side, if you will. He doesn't have the power to make the shift."

"**Whin won't wake up until a few hours from now."** the Dragon said in a deep baritone voice that was definitely masculine; not the deep voice - that was distinctly female - that Whin had used earlier. Red eyes glittered, staring hard at them. **"Ensallidus cannot keep waiting in the hallway. You should hurry."**

"He's right." Narzenim said, motioning for them to follow. Orion, Ironhide, and Jazz faltered. "What now?"

"I don't trust them." Orion told her, looking down his nose at her. His men had told him that he could be very intimidating when he wanted to be, and he wanted to convey that to Narzenim.

She reacted much differently. Her emerald eyes snapped at him, and he found himself taking a step back. "I know that you thought the Seer to be male. I understand that. I know that you thought the Seer to be older. I understand that too. More than you know. What I _don't_ understand is _why_ you don't trust the Seer regardless of age and gender." she motioned to the still form of Slash standing nearby. "I met her at dinner tonight. We have known each other for _four hours_ if you include the Pit fight and the lost time between now and the dinner. She trusts me unconditionally, just as Barricade does. Why can't you?"

"How do you know we're not being led into a trap?" Jazz asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I trust you, but I don't trust _them_."

Slash looked away and walked over to Ranthanoss who growled. They disappeared through a different door, and the Autobots were left alone. "If you don't trust them now, how will you react later?" Narzenim asked dryly. "Now come on. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you'd best follow." with that, she led the way down the hall. Bee, Prowl, Jazz, and Ratchet followed her; Ironhide and Orion traded weary glances before following behind them at a light trot.

Barricade, true to Slash's word, was waiting for them at the end of the hallway. "Quickly. We don't have much time." he told them gruffly, leading the way down the hall at a quick trot. "Slash and Ranthanoss are at the gates waiting for us." he told them as they crossed a snowy courtyard. "As I'm sure you can imagine, Seer, Ranthanoss isn't very happy about this."

The Autobots blinked in the sudden brightness of the snow, and were thankful (to some extent) to find that it was still dark. Ranthanoss and Slash waited for them at the enormous gates to the fortress, the former looking very uncomfortable in the heavy leather harness he/she wore. Especially the bridle-like contraption around his/her head.

"It was the best we could find." Slash explained as she wrapped white rags around the metal buckles so they wouldn't shine in the bright moonlight or shock Ran's scales with the cold. "Get on." Ranthanoss bent his/her legs and they clambered on carefully as Barricade (to their surprise) helped them to strap in. Narzenim sat on Ran's neck, just in front of his/her shoulders, holding the reins. Prowl and Jazz were on either shoulder with Orion, Ratchet, and Ironhide on his/her back.

Ranthanoss stood and shook himself, ignoring the yelps of his passengers. **"It's **_**cold**_.**"** he rumbled.

Barricade laughed. "Come on, Fire Dragon. Surely you can survive a little cold?" Ranthanoss snorted though he sounded amused. "Now you guys head North. When you reach the river, follow the water East. A few miles down there will be a place where you can safely cross. Cross and head North again."

"Don't stop no matter what." Slash told them. "Stop only when you reach the border of the ice. I'll cover your tracks, but eventually Lord Megatron will notice you're gone. I know you guys can make it if you leave now."

Ranthanoss turned his great head and looked at both of them, grumbling in that strange language they had. Both looked surprise but at his growl nodded. "Thanks. For everything." Narzenim told them softly. "We will see each other again." she smiled. "It will be very interesting times, to say the least." then she kicked her heels into Ranthanoss' shoulders. "Let's go, big guy. We need to get out of here ASAP." Ranthanoss lurched back then leapt forward, kicking up snow as he loped away.


	8. Chapter 7

The massive red shape tore through the heavy snow drifts, eyes slitted against the angle of snowfall. Prowl shivered from his spot on his/her shoulder; it was _really cold_. Narzenim was a strange cross between human and snow leopard, something that apparently kept her warm.

Ranthanoss wasn't happy, judging by the way he rumbled in irritation every once in a while. It had been tricky, going over the frozen river, and Prowl could tell that it really scared Ranthanoss when the ice began to crack beneath his weight and the weight of his passengers.

Now he collapsed in exhaustion beside a river; they had ran out of Decepticon territory a while ago and were in the thick forests beyond. The sun was just peeking above the horizon, lighting the trees around them nicely.

Narzenim motioned for them to climb off, stroking Ran's nose. **"Never again."** he rumbled tiredly. **"No more snow."**

Narzenim chuckled. "I won't tell you what I Saw, then." she teased and the Dragon groaned as his passengers climbed off his back. "Rest, Ran. We're relatively safe here. We're close to your territory, aren't we?"

The Dragon rumbled as his sides heaved. **"Clasher's Peak is just a few miles away."** he replied. **"Give us a minute to rest and we can make it the rest of the way back."**

"Call the others." Narzenim told him, poking his shoulder. "They can make sure no one's following us."

A great red eye with an obsidian pupil swung to look at her. **"But that would mean I'd need to get up."** he whined.

Ironhide looked around. "Where are we?"

Narzenim looked over at him. "Near Whin's territory. Once we cross the border there, we'll be safe."

"I have to get to work!" Prowl yelped, looking at his watch. "We'll be late."

Whatever else he was about to say was interrupted as Ranthanoss got to his feet and throwing his head back, gave a deafening roar.

"What are you doing?" Orion snapped, throwing a rock at Ran's shoulder. The roar cut off and the Dragon looked at him. He gulped, taking a step back. "Are you an _idiot_?" he sputtered, gathering his courage. "You'll bring them here."

Ranthanoss looked confused. **"Isn't that the point?"**

Ratchet threw his hands in the air. "How long were you with Whin?"

The Dragon tilted his head to the side, looking even more confused if it was at all possible. **"For most of her life."**

"You knew that she went to war?" Ratchet pressed, and the Dragon nodded, crouching down so his head didn't poke above the short trees around the river. "Then you should know that our position should remain a secret."

Ranthanoss ignored him, lifting his head as the low, mournful cry of a wolf echoed through the trees, followed quickly by the harsh scream of an eagle. He smiled and gave a low snarl in response. The trees shook convulsively and alarmed, the Autobots clustered around Narzenim and Bee, determined to protect the two youngest members.

A great gray wolf broke through the trees, stopping to stare at the with golden eyes and a canine grin. It was as large as a shire horse, and nothing to shake a stick at, even if they had weapons. He looked surprised, or as surprised as a giant wolf could look. **"Ran? Wha' 'appened to Whin?"**

Ranthanoss snorted. **"She's sick. They had her eat raw meat and drink blood. Not to mention Huitzilopochtli poisoned her, the bastard."**

The wolf nodded and Narzenim ran over to hug his furry neck. "Jumper!"

His grin widened. **"'Ey, Narz. See ya survived th' 'Cons."**

The girl nodded, hugging his thick fur. "Can you n' 'Bird make sure no one's following us?"

He nodded. **"We're on it."** when she let go of his fur, he tapped his cold nose against her forehead and turning, raced away through the forest.

She walked back to Ranthanoss and climbed on his back. "Let's get going. The sooner we make it to the border, the sooner we'll be safe."

"Who _was_ that?" Jazz asked in awe. That was a seriously _large_ wolf.

"_What_ was that?" Ratchet asked at the same time.

Narzenim grinned. "That was a comrade. His name's Jumper. I'm surprised you don't remember. If I remember correctly, you thought his arms were way too big and muscular to be real."

Soon Ranthanoss was hopping over the river and bounding through the forest. Rocky cliffs jutted out, towering over a section of forest. Ranthanoss stopped at the edge of the cliff, staring out into the forest. Then he knelt down, allowing his passengers to climb off. **"We're here."** he rumbled, staring off into the misty fog gliding over the forest. A shimmering lake glittered far away near the purple mountains. **"The edge of Whin's territory."**

"This is Clasher's Peak." Narzenim added, climbing down. "Well, this is Clasher's Cliff. _That's_ Clasher's Peak." she said, jerking her head up at the thick spire of rock rising majestically through the air. "This is the south end of her territory." she added.

"Why are we stopping now?" Orion demanded as she began to take of Ran's harness. "We need to keep moving."

"**We may be wanted by the Decepticon Army, but they wouldn't **_**dare**_** enter our territory."** Ran told them loftily, tossing his head.

"Why would it matter? They're _Decepticons_." Ironhide rumbled. "They _dare_ to do all _sorts_ of things."

The Dragon turned to look at him with brilliant ruby eyes. **"The Decepticons respect us - as in Whin, Syrioss, Jumper, Firebird, and I - that they wouldn't dare set foot, claw, or wing on our territory. Sure they're looking for us, but the won't follow unless they **_**really**_** wanted us, and believe me, they don't. They only wanted to see if you'd accept their 'offer.'"**

"How do you know?" Ratchet asked, helping Narzenim undo the heavy buckles.

"**Ensallidus and Voltimand told me."** the Dragon replied as if it were obvious. He paused and shook his head. **"Whin's awake now. I'll be going."** as they watched, his ruby eyes faded to a brilliant gold - Whin's usual eye color.

Whin said nothing as she slowly changed back to her human form. Her arms from fingertip to elbow were red and blistered painfully; judging by the way she toppled over, her legs, in knee-high boots, were the same.

A big burly man was suddenly _there_, catching her before she could fall and swinging him in his massive arms. His braided and beaded hair clicked as he adjusted his hold on her until he carried her bridal-style. "'Bird's wai'n fer us a' th' bottom o' th' Cliff." Jumper, the big man from before, rumbled to Narzenim. "Shall we b' goin'?"

Narzenim gave them a brilliant smile. "I know you're all tired, but once we get to the Jeep, then 'Bird can take us to the house and you can all go and sleep." she assured them.

"We have work; we're late already." Prowl pointed out.

Jumper gave a low rumble-laugh. "We took care o' it, don' worry."

"Then _why_ do I worry?" Ironhide drawled under his breath. Ratchet elbowed him in the arm as Jumper sighed, evidently hearing.

"Whin has a house at the center of her territory." Narzenim continued as if none of them had spoken. "It's really nice if I do say so myself. I haven't gone there yet, but I _have_ seen it in her mind." she led them down the path with Jumper holding the unconscious Whin in his arms.

"What happened to her?" Ratchet asked, gathering the courage to walk beside Jumper and peer at Whin's blistered hands. "It looks like she burned herself."

Orion snorted angrily. "Whin never burns herself." he said mockingly. Jumper growled at him, subsiding when Narzenim placed a hand on his large arm.

"That is certainly true, however." Narzenim said, casting a hard glare at Orion who looked away, still angry. "Orion, Whin, and Firebird aren't affected by fire because they're Torches. This is from the snow." she added, motioning to the blistered limbs as they reached the end of the trail. "She and Ran don't react very well to cold. Look; there's 'Bird."

True to her word, there was a sort of car like a cross between a Jeep and a truck; it had a Jeep's distinctive tough design with a truck's bed and no roof. There was a tall man sitting in the open bed of the truck, swinging his legs as he took a drink from the canteen in his hand. The man was as tall as Jumper but thinner, looking like a Native American with softer features. Beads and feathers were braided in his long hair which he kept in a ponytail, and warm eyes like honey glittered at them as he gave a wide smile. Seeing Whin, his smile faded abruptly and he raced over.

"Wha' 'appened?" he asked in an accent similar to Jumper's.

"Two-legged Dragon with a mean attitude and a puke-green belly." Narzenim replied. "Who do you think?" she paused as Jumper placed Whin gently on the pile of blankets she made in the bed of the truck. "Get in; we don't have all day." she grumbled. Jazz, Prowl, Bee, Ironhide, and Ratchet squeezed in the larger than normal bed of the truck while Orion climbed in front with 'Bird.

"Ready?" 'Bird called back. At Narzenim's distracted affirmative, he started the engine and drove through the forest on a narrow, winding path. "Sorry fer bein' so rude. 'Course we kinda need t' hurry 'cause, well, y' have 'Cons on yer tails. M' name's Firebird, but most call m' 'Bird. Tha's Jumper," he said, jerking his head to the massive gray wolf loping beside them. "An' half o' ya know Whin n' Narz."

"You're gonna have to explain a few things." Ratchet murmured as he watched Narzenim as she patted Whin's unresponsive cheek. "Like the whole shape shifting thing, you know?"

Narzenim sighed and looked at him, settling down beside her adopted mother. "Well, obviously we aren't human. You know the most basic idea of this war: you're Marked and you fight against the Decepticons - the 'bad guys,' if you will. However, to someone else, this is all a Game and a gamble. Have you heard of the First?"

"He's supposed to be the strongest, isn't he?" Bee asked quietly as Jazz and Prowl listened with rapt attention.

"_She_ is supposed to be the _oldest_." Narzenim corrected. "The oldest and the wisest. She's charged with finding a safe house and instructing the young Marked in the ways of survival in the Game."

"So this is all a _Game_?" Ironhide rumbled angrily.

Narzenim shook her head. "I assure you, Ironhide, that this isn't a game to us. To the Great Lords, yes, but not to us."

"We've 'lready seen to' many people die fro' this stupid Game." Firebird said disgustedly. "Whin don' wanna see no more. 'Speciallly her brother, friends, and son."

"So she _is_ my mother?" Prowl asked slowly. "My biological mother, I mean."

There was a bark-laugh from Jumper. **"'Course she is!"**

Narzenim rolled her eyes. "She is, Prowl."

Prowl sat back, eyes wide. He could delude himself into believing that there was some mistake - that Whin was only his _adopted_ mother - at the Fortress, but now, hearing it from Narzenim who never lied to him…he couldn't deny it. All those nights staying up to find his birth mother, telling Whin his plans when he found out who she was…she was really staring right at him.

"The rules of the First are complex. She _must_ ensure that the Seer remains alive. She must make sure that the Marked are trained and well before allowing them to join the Game. She must teach the young Marked the way of survival in the Game. She must keep our existence a secret according to the demands of the Game. She can never back down on a sincerely-given oath. And she must obey the edicts of the Great Lords." Narzenim told them dully.

"We're almos' there." Firebird spoke, interrupting their brooding. True to his word, they broke through a few ferns and slid to a gentle stop in front of a large house. It was a pale, creamy color, three stories tall and beautiful. Behind it they caught a glimpse of the lake they saw before, and the purple slashes of mountains. Beside the house were two rows of trees, one row on either side of the massive house.

As the Autobots climbed out of the truck, they watched in awed disgust as with sickening pops and cracks, Jumper became human once more. "I'll take you guys inside. I can tell you're all tired." Narzenim said as Jumper picked up Whin's limp form.

"You have some explaining to do." Ratchet pointed out as Ironhide yawned.

Jumper snorted as Firebird gathered the folded blankets with a grimace. "We c'n 'xplain when y' wake up." he said in his deep voice. "Yer walkin' dead."

"What about Whin?" Ratchet asked. "Her arms are burned…"

Firebird lifted a hand, silencing the medic. "_We'll_ worry 'bout Whin. _You_ git some rest 'cause if Whin get's up an' finds tha' we didn't take good care o' ya, she'll skin us 'live."

"If you're sure…" Prowl said slowly. Even though he didn't have much medial training, he was worried enough about his mother to offer his help. Since it was obvious that only he and Ratchet would.

The two waved them off with a 'thanks for your concern, but it really isn't needed,' carrying the unconscious woman into the house and disappearing. Narzenim led them in as well, taking them to the second two stories and showing them to their rooms. According to her, Jumper and Firebird had brought their stuff over.

Of course, that fact _should_ have made them uncomfortable, but they were really too tired to care. They closed the door and collapsing on the bed, fell asleep.

* * *

Ratchet slowly woke, and stared at the sky-blue ceiling, broken intermittently with fluffy clouds. It wasn't until he realized that they weren't moving that he remembered that one, Whin was an artist, and two, this _was_ her house.

He sat up, remembering the events that brought him there. Rubbing his aching head and trying to steer away from the horror-struck faces of the men Narzenim and Whin had so nonchalantly batted aside at the Fortress, Ratchet stood and looked around.

The ceiling, he had noticed, was painted to resemble the mid-morning sky with his light as the sun. His carpet was soft and a pale golden color, like the color of sand; his room held the vision of the beach. Waves curled near his door, and beyond he could see the darker colors of the deep water, and beside it the gentle curve of the cove, captured on the wall in emerald greens and glittering, whimsical hues he had no name for. Behind him and near his bed, the "beach" sloped into towering emerald-and-purple mountains, foggy and mysterious at the top, lush and vibrant near the beach. His bed blended perfectly, looking as if made from long poles of drift wood with a shimmering green canopy. His pillows were foamy like the sea waves, and his blanket was as blue as the rolling waves. The drapes near his large window blended perfectly with the mural around it, fading from blue sky to blue waves to sandy shores and foaming waves. Through his window he could see the real thing, the glittering blue lake and the misty, purple mountains beyond, glimmering in the morning light.

Just to make sure the painting wasn't real, he had the compulsion to touch it. Feeling the glossy paint, he felt satisfied and looked around at the room. There was a desk in the corner near the curved palm trees, looking, as his bed did, as if made from driftwood. A dresser stood beside an almost-invisible door which he opened, revealing a spacious bathroom with a large tub and shower, not to mention the other furnishings a bathroom usually had. As with his room, it had a seascape appearance, main colors being blue, green, and pale gold. There was no mural here, but it seemed just as beautiful as the room he had slept in. A sand-colored towel caught his eye, and curious, he walked over. It was embroidered with neat cursive letters spelling _'Ratchet'_ with medic crosses on either side.

Surprised, the medic stepped out, finding a note on the desk addressed to him. He didn't readily recognize the handwriting, but read it nonetheless.

"_Ratchet,_

_I really hope you like your room; I _did_ spend around a week painting it, after all. Narzenim suggested that I paint a seascape, though why exactly I'm not entirely sure. She no doubt consulted her Compass, sneaky little Seer. Regardless, this is your room, and I stress '_your'_._

_Should you get lost, go out your room, turn left, and keep walking until you find the stairs. From the stairs, you can find your way easily throughout the house; the kitchen, dining room, and living room are all downstairs._

_While we were held captive_ (Ratchet winced at her phrasing)_, Jumper and Firebird gathered your stuff. You'll find them in the appropriate places. Rest up._

_Whin."_

Curious, he opened the top drawer of the dresser - _his_ dresser - and found his clothes neatly folded, something he hardly did. Yet another slip of paper caught his eye and he picked it up, unfolding it. There were two lines of writing, both from different people. The first was messy but readable, not unlike Ironhide's handwriting.

"_Firebird is OCD. Wouldn't leave your clothes all messy and wrinkled."_

The second was much neater, almost as neat as Whin's note.

"_Jumper is the pack-wolf. Carries all your stuff. Too much of a dumb brute to argue properly."_

Ratchet crumpled the paper and shaking his head, gathered his clothes for a bath.

* * *

Red-brown hair dark with moisture from his bath, he dressed quickly and walked out the door, following the directions Whin's note gave him to find the stairs. From the stairs, he followed the noise of people talking, finding Bee, a sleepy Jazz, Prowl, a grumpy Orion, and a grumbling Ironhide.

"Morning." he greeted them cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

Orion eyed him, but it was the ever-positive Bee who answered. "I didn't realize I was so tired until my head hit the bed." he paused, noticing the silence.

Ratchet looked around, sitting beside Ironhide. "Where's Whin?"

Orion growled. "Do I look like her mother?" he demanded.

"I would hope not." a dry voice from the door said. They all turned as the door opened and a veiled woman walked in. She looked as if she was a Muslim that had just come from Saudi Arabia, swathed from head to toe in veils. In one arm she propped a basket filled with dates, apricots, pomegranates, plums, nectarines, and figs against her hip as she closed the door with her other arm. "You look nothing like Whin, actually." she continued, putting the wicker basket in the kitchen nearby. "I'm surprised you're related."

Whin walked into the dining room gingerly, arms and legs still blistered and red. "Who's related?" she yawned. Dressed in a revealing halter-top and flowing skirt, she stopping blinking, as she saw the woman in the kitchen. "Hey, Arianna. Did you go to Saudi Arabia recently?"

The woman laughed behind her veil. "Yeah, I just got back, actually." she motioned to the basket of fruits. "Got you guys some fruits."

Whin sighed. "I'm sure 'Bird'll be happy." she murmured distractedly. "He loves pomegranates."

Ratchet raced over to her, grabbing her by the elbow. "Let me see." he told her, not liking the way her arms were so red.

Whin looked confused. "Why?" through the bottom hem of her halter-top, the medic could also see the nasty-looking wound she had gotten from a poisoned dagger. He was surprised that the wound continued on to her human form though she got it while she was a Dragon, and said as much to his old friend who snorted. "It only carried because I was poisoned." she told him. She shuffled over to the refrigerator and grabbing a cup, poured a clear, slightly yellow liquid into the cup from a pitcher labeled with a flame. She shook the pitcher. "Don't drink from this unless you're a Torch." she told them before putting it away.

"Sit down so I can examine you." Ratchet pressed and Whin sighed.

"Fine, I'll humor you." she muttered, shuffling over to an empty chair. "But first, watch this." she held the cup to Ratchet. "What does this smell like?"

Ratchet's nose wrinkled, as did the others' at the table. "It smells like gasoline." Bee yelped, clapping a hand over his nose.

Whin smirked. "It _is_ gasoline. Watch." to their surprise and horror, she tilted her head back and gulped the contents of the cup, placing the empty cup on the table when she was finished. She held out her blister-free arms to Ratchet. "Better, doctor?" she teased.

Ratchet gaped, grabbing her arm and twisting it this way and that; he was _sure_ those burns wouldn't heal for at least a week, and even then it should have scars. "How did you do that?"

"Dragons heal quickly." Arianna said, placing a large bowl of cut fruit in the middle of the table.

"I was weak before, so I couldn't heal myself as quickly at the Fortress." Whin explained, standing. She lifted the hem of her halter-top, revealing her scar- and wound-less stomach and side. "Fire Dragons such as myself need to keep a certain core temperature or we will return to being moderately human. I dropped below my core temperature when we left the Fortress, thus I became unconscious and my other sides took over." she tilted her head to the side as Narzenim skipped into the dining room. "Do you guys want something to drink? Tea, coffee, cocoa?"

"Actually, we don't have any coffee, remember? You threw it all out when Firebird went bonkers?" Narzenim said, laughing.

Whin rolled her eyes. "True. And I don't think we have much tea…well, appetizing tea, so cocoa it is." without waiting for a response, she gathered enough cups on a tray as well as a pitcher of water, some cinnamon sticks, cream, ground cinnamon, and cocoa mix. As they watched, she poured the cocoa powder into each mug, followed by some cream and cinnamon. She put the cinnamon sticks in with the cocoa, pouring the cool water into each cup. She stirred each cup with the cinnamon stick, and as they watched, a glittering red veil of light settled on the cups as she did so; they began to steam gently as if she had poured hot water into the cups. She placed a cup in front of everyone, sitting down in a chair when she was finished. "Careful, it's hot." she told them as they eyed the cups.

Without warning, Orion growled and threw the cup at her. It shattered on her chest, spraying hot cocoa across her chest and exposed skin; Narzenim and Bee, who sat on either side of her, yelped as the steaming drops hit them. "Stop acting like everything's all right in the world." he growled at her as she looked confused. "We're at a war. The Decepticons kidnapped us, then _you_ kidnap us and won't let us go. You _killed our mother_, and act like you're old chums with the Decepticons - our _enemy_. Nothing is all right now. Everything is horrible! And you try to make everything right - fix irreconcilable differences with cocoa the way our mother used to make it…it's even worse!"

Whin's fists clenched and she growled, a low, scary sound echoing from deep in her chest. "Windtreader," her hostile, ruby-eyed stare turned to focus on the veiled woman. "Stand down." another low snarl rippled through her chest. "Windtreader, behave." she said in warning.

Whin tossed her head, training ruby eyes on Orion. Her lips had peeled back in a feral but silent snarl. "No. Nothing is all right, _brother_." she snarled in a low, gravely voice. "We already know this. Why do you think we risked our lives and the lives of our siblings to rescue you from the Decepticons? We know how the Game is played. We're the referees, if you will. The Chosen."

"Windtreader." Arianna said again before turning helplessly to Narzenim. "Aren't you going to _do_ anything?"

The girl shrugged. "They have a point. And they _are_ controlling themselves, believe it or not. You don't See what they're thinking." she added, sipping her cocoa. "On second thought, you really don't want to."

Whin ignored them. "Do you know what we are?" she growled, gesturing to herself. "We're a monster. A freak. We are a Dragon. Do you know what a bittersweet blessing that is? What a wonderful nightmare?" she held up a clawed hand. "We can kill a person with a flick of our wrist. We can become a creature that only exists in nightmares. We can do things that no _normal_ person can. Do you think we _like_ that?"

"You're insane is what you are!" whatever else he was about to say was drowned out in Whin's savage growl.

"_We_ are insane? Ha! You haven't _seen_ insane. Compared to the Decepticons, I am perfectly sane. Blackout - or Huitzilopochtli, whatever you want to call him - is known as the Aztec god of war. He existed in the time of the Aztecs, if you're too dense to understand that. He demanded human sacrifices - sometimes more than five times a day. Bet you never knew that, eh?" she leaned over the table, eyes hard. "Five times a day, sometimes two people at a time. Or more. Imagine all those people being killed. For _one_ Dragon, no less! Do you know what he did with them? He drank their blood as if it was wine. He ate their hearts and their eyes, their tongues, their throats. Do you know how the Decepticons eat? They hunt down cattle and game, yes, but sometimes, sometimes their guards just get on their nerves." she bared her teeth in an angry snarl. "So yes, compared to them, we are positively sane and civilized. Yes, we have a temper problem, but is it so much better than what the Decepticons do."

Everyone at the table looked a little green, especially at the feral grin she wore. "How do you know all this?" Jazz asked faintly when he regained enough courage to speak.

The grin disappeared and she looked angry as her eyes switched from red to orange before finally settling into a shade somewhere in between. "We were there."

"Impossible." Orion snarled, leaping to his feet. "You _can't_ be that old."

There was the feral grin again. "Can't I? Why don't you ask Narzenim, or Arianna, here _exactly_ how old I am?" she leaned closer. "I'll tell you a secret. In the records, I am fifty-seven. In _my_ records, I am well over thirty thousand years old. I was sent back to _learn_."

"To learn what? How to kill?" Orion snarled.

Now Whin really _did_ look angry. "We already _know_ how to kill." she rumbled in that snarling, gravelly voice.

"Is that what you did with our mother? Hmm? Were you showing her what you learned?" he sneered.

"Windtreader." she swung her head to glare at Narzenim who sat comfortably in her seat. "Stand down." her lips peeled back in a defiant snarl. "_Panz larnnez_." Whin snarled one more time before stalking outside.

"_Ko sykelar tsunz. Ko qepo._" Whin growled over her shoulder.

"What did you tell her?" Bee asked, staring after the woman.

"I told her to go outside." Narzenim said simply, sipping her cocoa. "And before you ask, she said she was hungry. She went to get something to eat."

Arianna sighed, sitting in the chair the woman had vacated. "I suppose I really _should_ have spoken with you before she came down." she admitted. "I guess I should've stayed here. Guess I should've have gotten those fruits for Firebird. It would've saved a lot of tears."

Narzenim sighed. "You _know_ Dragons cannot cry, Arianna. Don't waste time blaming yourself; what's done is done. You may as well get it over with now."

Arianna sighed. "I don't know why I didn't do this before; I guess I was too enraptured by their argument." she pulled off her veils, revealing a smooth, porcelain-like face of a doll. Only this doll could move. Her eyes were bright, brilliant, beautiful, a simmering blue the color of the sea with a greenish glimmer near the edges. Her hair was the darkest black they had ever seen, darker than the night, darker than the infinite confines of space.

Orion stared, slack-jawed. "Wh-wha…"

"My name is Arianna, Orion. I'm your mother."

"But you're _dead_."

"I _was_ dead. Whin bargained with the Great Lords to bring me back." was the reply as she peeled the rest of her veils off, folding them and placing the on the empty tray in front of her. "'Course to do that, she had to sacrifice her…"

"Why didn't she tell me?" Orion interrupted, sitting back on his chair. The appearance of his mother had cowed him considerably.

"Would you have believed her?" Narzenim asked practically. "To see the woman you hated the most - next to Slash, of course, who just up and left - the one you thought killed your mother, come over to tell you that she raised your mother from the dead? No one would believe her. Hell, she hardly believed it herself."

"So…you died?" Ratchet asked slowly, staring at the doll-like woman.

"Yep. But Whin didn't kill me. It wasn't a murder as Whin has hinted at. It was only an accident." she replied easily as if it didn't bother her in the least. "That's what you get when you live with two young Dragons."

Ironhide frowned. "Why not?"

The doll-like woman shrugged. "Well, consider this: there were two hormonal female teenagers in the house. Add the fact that they had the minds of a human, a Torch, _and_ a Dragon, and already you have a problem." she shrugged. "Self-control is very hard for them when they're young."

Jazz shivered. He remembered seeing the ghostly form of the Mark on his partner's skin, the glyph of a dragon spreading its wings in flight. He shivered again when his eyes drifted to Narzenim; the brilliant emerald orbs were practically glowing as the girl tilted her head to the side.

"_Jumper, do you know where my Compass is?"_ she asked in a peculiar voice that had everyone shivering. _"Oh. Okay. Thanks. Happy hunting."_

Arianna's lips twitched in amusement. "What'd he say, Narz?"

Narzenim looked surprised. "Was I speaking out loud again?" she asked, an embarrassed flush spreading across her face. She scratched her nose. "He said it was in my drawer-lock. I best go get it 'fore someone steals it." standing, she left with a light skip.

"Okay, okay. I think we need a few explanations. I have absolutely _no _idea what's going on." Jazz said, leaning back in his chair.

Arianna gave a soft smile. "That makes perfect sense. Come with me, please?" she stood elegantly and motioning for them to leave their cups, led them through the house. She opened a nearly-invisible door near the back of the house, revealing a large room filled to the brim with books. "This is the library. I'm not entirely sure _why_ Whin built a library in the house, but in this case, it's rather useful."

"Are all these books hers?" Orion asked in awe, staring. The library walls were around twenty feet high and loaded with shelves which were in turn loaded with books and scrolls, some of which looked to be older than a hundred years.

"Why else would they be in her library?" Narzenim asked, hopping down from the second-story railing. She handed a large, leather-bound volume to Arianna. "Here you go." then she grinned at the woman's confused look, tapping her head with a finger. "You forget that I can hear your thoughts across the house. All that clay must amplify it, or something."

Arianna rolled her eyes. "Trust you to make comments about that and my resonance, you little brat." she swatted playfully at the girl's head. Predictably she ducked out of the way, laughing when Arianna made a face at her.

Seeing that exchange reminded Orion, Ironhide, and Ratchet just how young Arianna really was. Whin had told them (and Orion had done his own math) that she was born when Arianna was fifteen, and had Orion at thirty-three; the woman died at fifty-seven, but after having Whin and Slash, apparently hadn't grown up, according to Whin. Not really, anyway. In many ways, she was very much a teenager though you could tell that she had seen her own fair share of horrors.

Arianna sat down at a table, opening the large volume. "Story time, kiddies." she teased, baring perfectly straight teeth that glittered like polished ivory. It was really creepy. Slowly, the Autobots and Prowl sat down at the table sitting innocently in the middle of the room as Arianna looked through the large volume, finding her place in the thick paper yellowed with age and tattered at the edges.

"We call this the bible." Narzenim told them, becoming a emerald serpent, draping herself around Arianna's neck. "As a joke, of course, but it fits somehow."

"You _know_ I don't like snakes, Sara." Arianna said patiently. "Birds are much better."

The serpent's eyes rolled and the scales disappeared, replaced by soft feathers. Then, with an impish grin (that looked _very_ creepy on a snake turning into some sort of bird) the feathers changed from pale orange to white on her body and pale green on her clawed wings. Finished, she perched comfortably on Arianna's shoulder, looking for all the world like an evil chicken.

Arianna rolled her eyes. "And that is so much better." she muttered, finding her page. "Here we go." she looked up at the squirming Autobots. "This is the story that started the entire war. It starts with the very beginning, with the battles on Cybertron, to the Great Cube called the AllSpark. It tells of why you are here, and why we are so different from normal humans." she paused, letting it sink in. "Are you sure you want to hear this story? I must ask for it contains things that you will not believe, but unfortunately it is the truth."

Bee shifted, looking at the faces of his comrades. He had only known the war and the limited scope of his powers. All he had known was the strange Marks on his skin and the skin of both his friends and enemies. Narzenim, the girl he had met in the cafeteria, proved to be in on the secret - the one person they really needed to befriend to win the war. How he knew that, he didn't know. And he really wanted to know the answer. _Why_? Why them? Why was there even a secret war raging on Earth? Why was it only them?

Ironhide's jaw was set, eyes hard. He wanted to know; it was very obvious. Ratchet was the same. Both knew war. They had lived through it as humans and semi-humans. Now they had to live through it as _freaks_. They had the same questions on their lips as he did. Jazz was the same, though he kept flashing glances to Prowl. Prowl was harder to read, as Bee didn't know him as well, but he _could_ tell that he had an aching curiosity to find out just what was happening; nothing was explained very well to him, after all. Orion, well Orion was the trickiest. He was a Torch, after all. They were very strange, tricky people who Bee had a hard time reading.

'_It just gets harder to read Torches.'_ the voice resonated in his head, and he jerked his eyes to stare at Narzenim the evil chicken. _'I am _not_ an evil chicken.'_ she added loftily though her scaly lips quirked upward in a smirk. Then she tilted her head to the side. _'If you want me to "stop reading your mind," then you should stop thinking so loud.'_

The evil chicken (Narzenim glared at him for that) turned her head to Arianna and nodded. Arianna began to read. "Many millions of years ago on the planet Cybertron, life existed, but not life as we knew it today. Intelligent robots that could think and feel inhabited the cities. They were called Autobots and Decepticons. But the brutal Decepticons were driven by a single goal: total domination. They set out to destroy the peace-loving Autobots and the war between the forces of good and evil raged across Cybertron, devastating all in its path and draining the planet's once-rich sources of energy. The Autobots, on the verge of extinction, battled valiantly to survive.

"At the edge of desperation, the leader of the Autobots went to the high temple on the planet. He took the AllSpark, the all-powerful artifact that in the right hands bring the planet back to life, and took it away. With the remaining Autobots, they bought the services of the only neutral captain on the planet and with her, escaped with the Cube to Tyger Pax." Arianna looked up at them before continuing. "They told the captain and her limited crew not to snoop around, but the youngest of her crew couldn't resist. She had to find out what was in the cargo bay; why her surrogate family was risking their lives by working with the Autobots.

"And did she find out. Beneath the tarp in the cargo bay was the legendary Cube - the AllSpark. She read the glyphs on the sides and saw the entire history of their race. There was nothing she could do at the moment; the Autobot encampment at the lonely asteroid of Tyger Pax was attacked by a gang of Decepticons, led by their nefarious leader himself.

"He captured the young scout on the Autobot ship, and to prevent him from getting the AllSpark, the scout and Autobots sent the Cube flying through space. Angry, the Decepticon leader chased after the Cube and wasn't seen for millennia.

"The Autobots, including the scout and captain, set off after the AllSpark in an insane quest to find the Cube before the Decepticons did, chased after them. The Decepticon leader, followed closely by his army, had beat them to the small, developing planet. They began to look for the Cube even as the Autobots landed." Arianna paused as turned the page and continued. "A sudden sickness struck through them, killing the Decepticons one by one. Within time, the sickness jumped to the Autobots. The first to fall was the captain's twin, a Decepticon warrior. Immediately, the captain was sick and on the verge of death; twins couldn't exist without the other. Despite this, she survived along with her crew, her son, and the Autobot saboteur.

"They knew that only one thing could help them: the AllSpark. So together, they set off to search for it. The first to fall were the captain's first mate and her old friend. They were placed near a river and the rest carried on. Her adopted daughter, her son, and the saboteur began to grow deathly ill and despite her own illness, the captain pushed on. She refused to stop, even resorting to carrying them on her back." Arianna paused, looking at Narzenim who was now a spotted leopard kit, ears flat to her skull and fur flared. "You don't have to listen to this, Sara. I know you don't like to hear this part."

"No, it won't matter; it will resonate in their minds for weeks." Narzenim replied, voice strangely flat. "I can bear it now; I will have to bear it for a while anyway. What is one more time?"

Arianna stroked the spotted gray fur and went back to the story. "She was struck as first the saboteur, then her son died of the strange illness. With her surrogate daughter in tow, she found the hollow where the AllSpark was buried. It was far too late, however; the youngest of her crew died at the beginning of the hollow, leaving the heart-broken and dying captain to limp down into the hollow.

"There, she found the AllSpark. As she lay dying at the base of the immense Cube, she implored the deities housed within to help her - to do anything.

"And they did. Just not in the way she expected." Arianna stopped, looking up. She allowed them to absorb the story she had just given them before turning the page, continuing. "A few million years later, as homo-sapiens began to walk the earth, the Cube - and the deities within - awoke. The first who woke was Primus, the Cybertronian god of light and life. Unicron, the god of darkness and death, followed soon after.

"They had nothing to occupy their attention now. Bored, they wandered the Earth, finding each immense bodies of their children and getting rid of them. Seeing the beginnings of humans gave them an idea. Using the bodies of their warriors, they created spirits which they infused with their speed, strength, agility, unique transforming ability. Everything they had before in a small, human-like body. To blend in, really.

"They called it the Game, and to make it more interesting, they scattered them in different times, branding them with tattoo-like Marks to keep tabs on them. That is the origin of you - the Marked." Arianna looked up at them, stroking Narzenim's furred head.

"It's a lot to take in, we know." Narzenim told then softly, becoming a wide-eyed ginger kitten. She gave an impish smirk. "It took Firebird and Jumper a few years, if it makes you feel better."

"Is that all we need to know?" Prowl asked slowly.

"No."

"What else is there?" Ironhide rumbled.

"There are the Twelve Laws." Narzenim said, looking up at Arianna.

"You know those better than I do. I'll go put this away." the woman stood and walked off to do as she said.

"There are twelve laws which we must abide by. Most of them don't concern you, but you must know them anyway because they _do_ affect you in some ways. First: It is the job of the First to ensure the longevity of the Seer. Second: The First is not immediately bound to the Marked though it is her job to ensure the longevity of the young Marked. Third: The First has the responsibility of governing a safe house and instructing the young Marked in the ways of survival in the Game. Fourth: It Is the First's job to ensure that the Secret is safe as demands the Game. Fifth: The First owes a never-ending debt to the Great Lords. She may not resist an order from the Lord of the Light, but may refuse orders from the Lord of Darkness. Sixth: The First may never back down on an oath given sincerely. Seventh: The Great Lords aren't bound to the Marked, just as the Marked aren't bound to the Great Lords. Eighth: A Dragon may never die. Nine: A Torch may never die. Ten: The Chosen may choose to do as they wish though the First must take responsibility for their actions. Eleven: The Chosen are forbidden to die. Twelve: Those who remain useful are permitted to live; once one ceases to serve a purpose, they may be killed off and all rules in their favor become void and cease to exist."

"'S she sai', there ain't many Laws tha' 'ffect ya." Firebird said, sauntering in. "West side clear, Narz. I _did_ see Huitzilopochtli sneakin' near m' aerie, though. 'E ran 'fore I could do 'nythin' t' 'im, the coward." he smiled at Arianna. "Hey, Ari. I _thought_ I smelled you in the kitchen." he held up a handful of dates, popping them into his mouth as he spoke. "Thanks for th' fruit."

Arianna ruffled his hair. "You're welcome."

"Anything else to report?" Narzenim asked, snagging a date from Firebird.

The man shrugged. "If y' count Whin stormin' off in a tizzy, then yeah. Jus' saw Huitzilopochtli, Jumper, n' Whin t'day. No' much more." he tossed the last date at Narzenim who caught it. "I'm off 'gain. Second patrol, n' all." he opened the window and leapt out, becoming an enormous red, orange, and gold bird and flying away before they could get a good look at him.

"Patrols?" Bee asked, surprised.

Arianna shrugged. "The Decepticons will likely try to infiltrate for a week, so Whin, Jump, and 'Bird are running extra patrols. Nothing too serious, really. You'll start your own when you've been trained."

"What do you mean by 'your own?'" Prowl asked slowly.

"Well, Whin has a larger than normal territory, especially for a solitary Dragon, even though she lives with a Phoenix and what you would call a werewolf. She has sectioned off a bit of land on the North edge of her territory. When 'Bird and Jumper were called after Bee was captured, they were working to build a base for you." Arianna told them calmly. "Of course it is understandable that you would not wish to live with Whin for very long, but she feels that she cannot leave you completely alone; thus she began to expand her territory once she got word of the size of your group. By sectioning off her territory, she is able to be close to you but give you enough room to be on your own."

"So you're kicking us out?" Ironhide rumbled.

The doll-like woman tilted her head to the side as Narzenim stared blankly at the wall. "Only if you want to leave. We all assumed that you wouldn't tolerate Windtreader's presence." she turned to look at Narzenim who was beginning to look worried. "What is it, Sara? What are the patrols saying?"

Green eyes flashed to her. "Firebird caught sight of the Seeker trine in our airspace. He's not engaging, but he's keeping an eye on them. He also found Blackout and Waspinator. They are doing a spiral-pattern search just west of Clasher's Peak." she tilted her head to the side, a far-away look in her green eyes. "_Jumper? Do you have anything to report?_"

"It's times like these where I wish I could hear both sides of the conversation." Arianna murmured, watching the girl.

"He's climbing a hill now; he's tree-level at the moment." Narzenim said slowly. Suddenly, she swore. "_Windtreader, where are you?_" her eyes flashed left and right as if tracking something only she could see. "_Finish your hunt and return. _Now_. You can bring it back, but I need you here _now." she was on her feet, pacing.

"What's going on?" Orion asked, getting to his feet abruptly.

Arianna motioned for him to be quiet. "Something's wrong; the Decepticons are _searching_ for something, and it's not you." she looked at the pacing teen. "Where is she?"

"Near Vancouver. It'll take her a little while to get back here. _Jumper, track them. Stay on their trail but out of range. Firebird, let them know whose territory this is, but do not engage. Light up the sky if you must, but be careful._" Narzenim tugged on her lower lip thoughtfully. "_I _know_ we can't take on the entire Army!_" she roared suddenly, throwing her hands in the air. "_You don't need a Seer to know _that_._" she ran a hand through her vibrant red hair. "This is worse than anything I could've Seen." she whispered.

There was a low rumbling outside and a massive reddish head poked into the library, just barely fitting through the window. **"What is the matter, Daughter of Mine?"**

Narzenim hugged the massive nose. "Everything is going down the drain. Find Jumper and bring them back." the great head jerked and when Narzenim let go, slipped quickly through the window and disappeared. "Arianna, help me get medical supplies, weapons, and armor. The rest of you, do as you please, but _do not go outside._"

Arianna and Narzenim ran out, the latter becoming a spotted leopard and racing around the corner.

* * *

"What's going on?" Ratchet asked, chasing after Arianna.

The woman glanced back at him but continued to race down the halls. "I'm not entirely sure, but Sara _did_ say that I'd need to treat more than a few injuries today. I'm also to show you the hospital wing. Once you are trained and ready, you are to take over."

"I am a doctor. I am very capable of handling things now." Ratchet snapped, feeling belittled by the woman's tone.

A brilliant blue eye regarded him. "Okay, then. You have a young Fire Dragon on the verge of adolescence with a broken wing; fractures on her first two phalanges and another on her radius. She still has a case of battle-fever, and lost a few scales on her neck. How do you treat her?" she asked, stopping in front of a door marked aptly with a medic's cross.

Ratchet stared at her, mouth agape. "I'm not a _vet_." he snorted indignantly.

"Which is why you will only be handling injuries while they're in their humanoid form." was the reply. "I will be your mentor; I already act as nurse when Whin, 'Bird, and Jumper get injured." she opened the door, revealing a large room. "Welcome to the hospital wing."

It looked like Whin had ripped a chunk out of a hospital to some extent; the walls were creamy white and the bright tile reflected the bright light high above. The ceiling was around twenty feet tall, maybe more, and nearly fifteen shining metal berths were lined neatly at the farthest end of the room. Gleaming metal cabinets lined the walls, and there were stationary berths of varying sizes for operations as well as sinks and stretchers.

Arianna walked into the room and Ratchet followed, staring at everything he could. "The emergency supplies are here." she said, gesturing to the first metal cabinet. She opened the doors, revealing large black duffle bags. "I usually pack around five with general first aid equipment; antiseptic, bandages, that sort of thing. The blue ones are emergency, like broken and fractured bones, missing limbs, and wounds that need stitching and anesthesia. Red is for life-threatening injuries like severed arteries. Once Whin nearly lost her head." she added, grabbing two black and blue bags, and one red one. "Not a pretty sight. First lesson: don't get between Whin and whoever she's protecting. Also, try to stay away from touching her blood, especially the blood in her chest and neck. It tends to burn."

Ratchet dipped beneath the weight as Arianna tossed a black bag at him as she hauled her own burden out of the hospital wing. "So what would my duties be?" he asked, trotting after the woman.

"Caring for the wounded, basically. You aren't required to go into battle, but if you want to, you can. Of course, you'll have to stay in small skirmishes and possibly patrols, as we can't risk a Healer being out on the field, but you _can_ fight." she smiled. "I mean, look at me: I'm a reincarnated human-slash-healer and _I_ still fight."

She led Ratchet out the door, dropping the bags (gently, of course) under a veranda on the side of the house. "I'm confused." Ratchet said, shaking his head.

Arianna gave a small smile. "It's all right. You'll get used to it." then she paused, an odd look passing along her strange eyes. When Ratchet moved to speak, she leapt to his side faster than he could believe, pressing a hand to his mouth and pushing him against the wall, head turned to stare at the trees behind her.

Ratchet's eyes widened at the feel of her hand; it was cold and smooth like glazed pottery or porcelain. Not flesh, but something inorganic. Narzenim's comments about clay and resonance suddenly made sense. "Hush." she said in a breathless whisper. Cool air - her breath - breezed across his face. "There's someone in the forest."

The trees shook convulsively and the enormous gray form of Jumper leapt out of the brush, eyes bright. **"Hey, Arianna, Ratchet. We have an injured Tracker an' a pregnant Dragon incoming'."**

"The extent?" Arianna asked, sounding relieved.

"**The Tracker 'as a nasty gash on 'is leg an' flank an' a nasty limp. Th' Dragon is in pain; too much shape shiftin'."** was the reply as Jumper shifted his weight from paw to paw. **"I need t' go an' cover 'Bird's feathered butt. They're nearly here."**

"Understood. Stay safe." with a nod, the massive wolf bounded off. Arianna picked up a blue bag and opened it, spreading its contents on a large table outside as the trees shook convulsively. Ratchet stared in horror as a black, gray, and white head poked through, red eyes bright against his dark mix of a face.

Whin's face appeared through the trees as well, and Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief. She crouched down, allowing her passenger to slowly slide off; Arianna was there to catch her and half carry her to a chair. "Ratchet." her sharp voice caught his attention and she motioned for him to treat the Decepticon who was in obvious pain.

"Why do I feel so sick?" the woman snarled, and as he had with Whin, Ratchet had kept out of her reach as her eyes blazed gold.

"Calm down and sit still.." he told her softly but firmly, as if he was speaking to a misbehaving child or dog. Slash's mouth, open to demand an answer, shut with a snap, surprised at his tone. "Good, now stay calm and stay in control."

Whin, behind them, gave a low rumble of a laugh as Arianna climbed up Barricade's side to treat his leg. **"Ratchet the midwife. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it, Slash?"**

"I can't say; he's currently giving me a death glare." her twin replied with a wide grin as her eyes bled back to red. Her voice, much more melodic than Whin's rough lilt, dropped to a stage-whisper. "But between you and me, it should be his new nickname."

"Can it, you two." Ratchet grumbled as he felt Whin's hot breath on his back. "Whin? Can you give me some hints?"

There was an amused rumble from behind him. **"I keep forgetting you're not a Dragon and can't yet sense what's wrong."** she said ruefully, tongue flicking out to taste the air; he saw the forked tip out of the corner of his eye. **"She's pregnant, but despite our warnings, continued to shape shift."** the last part was directed at her twin who stuck her own tongue out at her.

"Is that bad?" Ratchet inquired curiously.

"**It depends. When Slash shape changes, **_**everything**_** in her changes, and when we're pregnant, that would also mean our child - or children."** she added. **"The more she changes, the more comfortable whatever in her stomach becomes with it, and there is a chance that they will decide on their own not to change back with their mother."**

"That seems to be the case." Narzenim said, popping out the door, hefting a large create behind her. "I See nice twin boys."

Barricade rumbled. **"Oh great."**

Narzenim didn't seem to be very surprised at seeing the two Decepticons in her yard. "I'd tell you more things about them, but I'm worried you'd kill them first."

"Very reassuring, Young One." Slash said wryly.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" Ratchet asked, looking at them. Up close, he could properly look at the Dragon. Of course, he could also get a look because it was apparent that neither would actually hurt him. He had thought earlier at the Fortress that Barricade was black, white, and gray; it turns out that his black areas were mixed with indigo, dark violet, and lighter shades of purple. His white and gray areas had flecks of silver and white.

Whin, back in her human shape, walked into the house as the rest of the Autobots poked their heads out, wondering at the noise.

"**Pleading temporary sanctuary."** Barricade rumbled reluctantly.

"A 'Con, pleading for sanctuary?" Ironhide rumbled back in disgust.

"He is my sister's mate." Whin snapped, walking back outside. She had changed out of her skirt and halter top, now wearing a pair of full breeches and a soft tunic, both colored the same ruddy red as her scales. Her hair was pulled back in a tight braid, leaving her red and silver bangs to frame her face. There were arm guards on her forearms with delicate slits on the outer edges of her arms. "I have seen and heard all I need to and unlike you, don't question it."

Slash eyed her. "Sister, you do not need to fight this battle. We will leave as soon as we are able to."

Whin said nothing, not even looking up from stretching. It was Arianna who spoke. "Ensallidus has a nasty gash on his flank. It's poisoned - no doubt Huitzilopochtli's work - and deep enough that it tore part of his muscle. If he keeps running on it, it will tear further and take longer for it to heal."

"I am capable of fighting, Sister." Whin said quietly. "Narzenim has Seen this happening, so I am not too worried."

There was the harsh cry of an eagle high above, and they all looked up to see a massive eagle hurtling toward them.

Only, it wasn't an eagle; it was far too big, and it's neck and head far too slender. It still had the curved beak and dangerous claws, though colored red, gold, and orange as if it were on fire. Two long feathers on each brow formed a long, elegant crest, and long tail feathers gave it a whimsical appearance. The enormous bird began to shrink, growing arms and legs in place of wings and claws. Soon Firebird stood before them, looking drained and breathing heavily. He was dressed only in a pair of basketball shorts, leaving his slender chest bare.

"They're near Jumper's pond now." he reported as Whin stood. "Approaching fast. They may not have their Tracker, but they are able to tell where they were and are swinging around. The Seeker trio saw us, too. They're leading us here."

"Numbers?" Slash asked sharply as Jumper bounded to them, stopping in front of them.

"**Bonecrusher an' 'is crew, wit' Blackou', th' Seekers, an' Megatron hisself. Jus' them. Ah go' th' res' o' their infantry."** Jumper told them with a feral grin. Now that he called attention to it, his teeth and mouth were stained red. The Autobots shivered.

"We don't have enough to fight all-out with them." Narzenim said quietly.

"Which is why I'm getting ready." Whin finished grimly, checking the fit of her arm guards as Jumper became human once more; Narzenim tossed him a rag and with it, he wiped the blood off his face and hands. Like Firebird, he wore only a pair of basketball shorts, baring a narrow gash on his chest and a large slice on his side.

"You must not do anything to provoke them." the Seer told them in a voice that booked no argument. "Let Whin do the talking."

"But they're_ 'Cons_." Orion protested childishly.

"That does not mean they are incapable of speaking in a civilized manner." Arianna told him sharply, looking up from treating Barricade's leg. "Respect your _enemies_, respect _yourself_, respect your _teammates_."

"You don't understand, Mother, _Autobots_ and _Decepticons_ mix like _oil_ and _water_." he protested.

"Let me put it this way: _my_ turf, _my_ rules." Whin rumbled, eyes flashing angrily. "If you want to survive this Game, then you'd best start trusting me an' my crew. That includes Narzenim." she jerked her head for emphasis at the girl who sat beside her. "She knows more about this Game than you do, and you'd best respect that."

Firebird gave a short whistle. "They're coming head on."

"**Windtreader."** Whin turned to look at Barricade who regarded her solemnly. **"Forgive us for placing this burden on your shoulders. Let us fight him ourselves; it is **_**our**_** battle, not yours."**

"Narzenim has Seen this fight for a while; it must come to pass." Whin replied. "But you are my sister's mate. Your problems are my problem now. And that includes battles. It is my joy to fight for you." with a short bow, she walked off.

Narzenim stopped the Autobots from following her with a _look_. "She wants to be alone before she fights." she said solemnly. "Let's get this crate out to the front." with Firebird's help (Arianna and Ratchet were treating Jumper's wounds), they placed the crate in front of the house near the porch.

Icy fog crept through the trees as the sky darkened. "Always making a dramatic entrance." Arianna grumbled. In her hand she held a powerful bow; on her back was a quiver full of arrows and she wore wrist guards. Each arrow was fletched with a feather that seemed to be the embodiment of fire. She looked at the Autobots who had followed her out. "Line up side by side." when they looked reproachfully at her, she scowled. "It is polite. Now do it or go inside."

Reluctantly they obeyed as Narzenim opened the crate and pulled out strange-looking weapons. She passed them out to the Autobots. "Don't you dare shoot unless we tell you that you can." she told them. "Pretend you're in the army and Arianna is your captain."

Indeed, Arianna stood slightly ahead of the line, bow resting at her side. Whin was in the large area in front of the house, staring pensively into the trees.

There was a large, heavy moose carcass near the tree line on the side of the driveway, and seeing it, Narzenim and Firebird bounded over and dragged it over. "Whin won't like it if they took her kill." Narzenim explained, noting their confused looks.

The icy fog continued until the trees were misshapen, misty shapes. Then figures began to emerge.

"They're 'ere." Firebird said grimly.


End file.
